Fallen Amaryllis
by XrosaryX
Summary: She would grow up to become one of the strongest Cooper women in history, but she had once been the daughter of an honorable ninja. Though her peaceful days with her father change when fate brings them both a strange series of events that not only will affect them, but their whole family history.
1. Fleeing into the Night

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN SLY COOPER!**

 _ **Excuse me as I continue to bang my head onto the surface of my desk. I can't stop writing. This is the second story I have made for Sly Cooper and dang it I wanted to do this one so badly because yeah.**_

 _ **I am a huge fan of the idea that Henriette is Rioichi's daughter and sorta was disappointed Thieves in Time didn't go into her time, glad for the mention though. Anywho this story is if the gang went a little ahead during Rioichi's time and Henriette was around. It's pretty much the same, but with some of my own twists. I hope you all enjoy!**_

 _ **BY THE WAY! I also want to take this time to direct a moment of thanks to the writer chloemcg. I have read some of their works on Henriette and Rioichi's relationship and it's really good!**_

 **Note : All spelling and grammatical errors I have missed, I apologize for. Read on!**

* * *

It had all happened so fast.

That day had begun as any other morning for her. Her father coming into her room and waking her up just as the sun had begun to rise. The cry of the birds in the distance making her ears twitch as she listened to the deep voice of her father to coax her out of the warmth of her blankets. In the end she had gotten up without any complaints, after all there was much work to be done today, and she followed her father out of her room so they could get the restaurant ready for the day.

Her father smiled down at her as she yawned widely before blinking her eyes rapidly to get rid of any lingering signs of sleep in her face. She could feel his warm hand gently patting her lightly on the top of her head with a promise she could go with him to catch fish later on in the day which perked her up. The thought of being near a body of water had always excited her when she was young and she enjoyed fishing with her father earning him a small hug around the waist making him laugh.

Though just as they reached the front door to open the sushi restaurant, her father had stopped suddenly, his hand halting mid motion in the air before the wooden door as he blinked.

She didn't say anything as he stared at the door, only curious as to why he had suddenly stopped.

Not many people knew, but her father was a thief. By day the village knew him as Rioichi, the creator of sushi and a master chief known throughout Japan. Though by night he became a master ninja thief who stole away into the night to steal from people who had done wrong. Their whole family had been thieves of honor...And she would follow in those footsteps soon.

But it seemed fate had different plans today for her father and her.

Her father quietly knelt down before her, his hands resting on her tiny shoulders as he turned her to face him. She allowed her eyes to stare up at him, though her right eye could not see him. While her left eye had the same light brown color as her father's, her right had been forever a white like color that was always hidden behind her long bangs.

The blue hood of her father's was slowly drawn down as he looked at her, "Go into the kitchen and hide," he told her, "Do not come out until it is completely quiet or until I come get you...Be silent my child...and do not fret. I shall be safe."

She nodded before padding off to the kitchen, not questioning his words.

She opened the door to one of the lower cupboards by the stove and ducked inside, her tiny body fitting perfectly as she shut the door close. Curling her tail close to her chest she waited.

At first she heard nothing and for a moment thought her father was playing a joke on her. Her hand started to push the door open until she heard sounds of yelling and crashing coming from the front that she immediately retracted her hand back. Her hands tugged her tail closer to her body as she trembled in the darkness of her little hiding place as the sounds continued. From a distance she could hear her father protest and she could faintly hear the sounds of another person over her father. Soon she could hear the sounds of metal moving against each other echo through the restaurant.

Pressing her lips together and shutting her eyes, she tried with all her might not to reveal herself.

A long time had passed after the sounds had died down, but she remained in her hiding spot. Her shoulders and back ached from being pressed up against the wood and her legs were starting to ache the longer she sat. Though the beating of her heart had not died nor did the shaking whenever she heard something come into the kitchen before leaving.

Her father hadn't returned yet.

She jolted up suddenly after letting her eyelids droop down, the top of her head hitting the cover of her tiny cupboard space making her whimper. Her ears went back as she pressed her hand against the bump that was sure to form later. Her father hadn't come to get her...And she had no idea what to do.

The restaurant was not empty though.

From her little hiding spot she could hear people moving about her and her father's home. The sounds of metal upon metal reminded her of how the guards of the town moved with their armor plates grinding against each other...Were there guards in her home? Perhaps they could tell her what happened to her father...And where to find him.

Pushing the door open a bit, she peered out into the kitchen.

Only to hurl herself back into her spot as a rather large armored boar walked by, a weapon in hand as he searched the darkened kitchen. Pressing a hand to her mouth she stayed still as the guard's lantern light peeked through the cracks of the cupboard inside. The boar let out a low grunt before trudging out of the kitchen and back into the dining area outside allowing her a small time frame to slip out of her hiding place.

Her legs shook as she stood up before hurrying over to the door in the back of the kitchen as quickly as she could. If she was lucky perhaps she could sneak into the back and find her father. However all hope for her escape died as she noticed something upon the door.

Her father's filet knife was not in its proper place upon the door, a key to a lock created by him to ensure their sushi restaurant's safety as well as her own and his if others tried to invade their home. The absence of the shiny blade meant that she was trapped in the kitchen and her only means of escape was through the front, where the guards she could hear were.

Where had her father gone?

Her small fingers traced the bottom handle of the knife imprint as she tried not to think about what those guards may have done to hurt her father. He was strong and he could fight...A ninja of skill, surely he had escaped and was planning on getting her back...She took in a deep breath as she began to turn away from the door. However she heard something again.

Again she could hear the grinding of metal moving towards her location and without much time to hide back in her cupboard she decided to dive into a large pile of rice sacks, yanking a few over her for good measure to remain concealed.

Three boars had entered the kitchen and she could only watch in horror as they began to throw plates and pots down to the floor. All her father's kitchenware shattering or rolling off to the far ends of the room with cracks. Her fear slowly began to reside as anger grew, only to hold her breath as a new person entered the kitchen.

A tiger.

A very large tiger with a lit cigar bit between his sharp teeth surveyed the destruction around him before letting out a snarl. "Did you find it?" he inquired one of the guards who snorted out of fear before shaking his head.

"That blasted raccoon! Don't stop searching until you find it, I don't care how...Tear everything down if you need to."

A gasp escaped her lips making all four occupants in the kitchen hear her before slapping her hands over her mouth as she trembled under the sacks of rice.

The tiger glanced around, his eyes narrowed as he tried to find what had made the sound. Her tail wrapped around her stomach tightened as his eyes fell on the sack of rice she was under. She began to try and stop shaking, in fear that the sacks would move as well as he began to make his way over. Her father always told her that a ninja could remain as still as a mountain...Never noticed yet firmly in the earth. Yet she couldn't bring herself to stop her trembling as the tiger stood above her.

She was not a mountain, but just a small little raccoon under the gaze of the predator.

Without so much as a cry she finally jumped out of her hiding place, pushing a sack of rice right into the tiger's face. The sudden rain of rice right in front of his face had startled him enough to allow her to flee. The boars were also startled by her appearance and were too slow to catch her as she pushed past them to the open door. She could not bring herself to look behind her as she heard the tiger growl out a command to catch her.

All she could think was to run.

Run as fast as the wind into the night to hide.

* * *

 ** _Okie dokie first chapter done!_**

 ** _I really hope this is a good start to this story and I hoped you all enjoyed it. Until next time~!_**


	2. To be Alone

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN SLY COOPER! NOPE, NADA, ZILCH, NEIN!**

 _ **Guess whose back with an update!? This person, yah! I'm so glad everyone is enjoying this story and I hope you like this new chapter heading your way!**_

 **Note: All spelling and grammatical errors I have missed, I apologize for. Enjoy!**

* * *

Collapsing onto the cobblestone path she weakly struggled to crawl towards the thicket of bamboo beside the path before falling flat onto her stomach in the dirt. She was sure her father would scold her later on for the dirt on her clothes, but she felt so tired.

She had ran as fast as she could away from that tiger and the guards. Her body following instinct than her mind as she kept on running until now. Her legs had started to ache from being forced to sit for long hours to then be used to sprint her way from her house to the more isolated section of her village.

Forcing herself up she rolled onto her back as the rise and fall of her chest began to slow, catching her breath and finally relaxing her body.

For a moment she wondered if she had done the right thing to flee instead of fighting the invaders out of her house. Though she was certain they would not be merciful to her despite being a girl and a child. If they had gotten her father, what would hold them back to capturing her as well?

This brought back the question of where her father was.

She had not seen his bright red fur in the shadows as she ran through the village, but she had not seen anyone else for that matter. Only boars with lanterns and weapons walking around the streets. The glow of their lanterns only illuminated their dark eyes and too sharp tusks and teeth that she could not bring herself to look at them for too long if she didn't want to get nightmares.

Weakly rolling up into a sitting position she stared through the bamboo out into her village.

Where was her father?

This had to be the longest time they had been separated save for the few times she played outside in the back of their restaurant and he going out at night to steal from corrupt men. Her tail slowly curled around her waist again as she forced back a sniffle. No crying that wasn't the right thing to do, she scolded herself as she continued to look out.

Beyond the thicket she could see the movement and shine of armor under the moonlight which made her cower a bit. She would have to wait until she could feel her legs again before slipping out. Hugging her knees to her chest she kept her gaze trained outward before finally sliding out onto her side.

At last her eyes finally shut closed as she let sleep overtake her.

Maybe in the morning her father would find her and explain what had happened. Perhaps she would wake up in the morning back inside her room to the sound of the birds singing their greetings to the sun and running out to help her father open the restaurant. All she had hoped was that this was a bad dream, and tomorrow would be better.

* * *

Through the bamboo the sun's rays peeked through, making her groan softly as she got up from the ground. Slowly she got up from the ground and began to dust herself, bits of dirt and leaves shook off from her hair as she carefully peered out.

Guards were still around, yet they were not as on guard as last night. She could see a few guards yawn and nap at their post before jerking awake.

Retreating back into the thicket she glanced around in hopes to find some way out without having to go through the village. Her stomach let out a low growl as she realized she hadn't eaten anything since yesterday. She stared out through the bamboo into the village before swallowing down the lump in her throat.

Crouching as low as she could she slowly began to emerge out of the thicket, her good eye darting left and right as she slowly made her way to an unguarded house. Grabbing hold onto a rope dangling from the side of the roof she climbed up. Her hands gripping the rough material as hard as she could to pull herself up.

From above she looked around and saw a sleeping guard a few feet away from where she was.

By his side was a small basket of fruit.

Forcing her saliva down she looked around in desperation to find how to get over there without being seen.

There were four guards around the area that posed a problem to her if she chose to walk on the ground. She looked at the roofs and realized the ropes tied to each roof.

She would have to carefully balance on those and make her way to the sleeping guard and once there she could swipe his fruit before disappearing back up onto the roof. It was a plan that was frightening as she thought over all the possible failures she could do while walking on the rope.

Falling off, a guard looking up, and the rope untying...But what could she do? She was hungry and there was no way she was going to risk returning back home. The tiger had seen her and may have placed even more guards in attempt to capture her...Or worse try to use her against her father.

"...Papa," she whispered as she tried hard to not let the tears out. Shaking her head she took a deep breath in before advancing to the rope. Carefully she reached out and hopped onto it, wobbling as she tried to find her center.

Though light, she could already see the possible fall as she kept finding her balance. It was rather difficult for her to even take the first steps forward as she only had one seeing eye forcing her to try and correct herself as she shakily began the slow walk across.

The rope wobbled as she walked, but held on strong as she made her journey over the guards.

"One foot in front of the other, one must not rush," she quietly told herself as she kept on walking, "Patience..." Soon she reached the very roof of the house the sleeping guard had been attending to.

Her ears flattened against her head as she peered over the edge of the roof to the sleeping boar guard below.

His entire body was leaning back against the front door of the house, his tongue peeking out of his nearly open mouth as well as drool slowly wetting the ground by his left side. She scrunched up her nose at the sight and restrained herself from voicing her disgust out loud. A lantern was hanging off one of the edges of the roof faintly illuminating the small group of bamboo growing close by.

She would use the bamboo to climb up and down from the ground.

Taking hold of the upper part of the green plant, she hooked her two legs around it before slowly urging her body to slide down. Her feet touched the ground and she crouched as she slowly walked over to the guard's basket of fruit. The boar guard let out a few snores and grunts as she advanced, making her freeze whenever she heard him. By the time she had reached his basket the boar guard was letting out quieter snores.

Acting quickly she began to shove as much fruit as she could into her left sleeve. A few apples, oranges and pears later she began to back away only to freeze as she heard someone heading towards the house.

Running as fast as she could to the bamboo, she hugged her left arm to herself with the fabric of her sleeve between her teeth to keep the fruit inside. Forcing as much strength as she could to climb her heart raced just as she caught sight of two guards glancing around. Now that it was daytime she was right out in the open...As clear as day.

With only her legs and right arm, the climb had been slower than her descent but with some stroke of luck...She had managed to get back onto the roof.

Rolling over to ensure her tail and legs were not dangling over the edge, she stayed completely still as she heard the guards below.

"OW!"

"The heck are you sleepin' on the job for?!" Crawling over to the edge of the roof she nervously peeked as she watched the sleeping guard wake up, rubbing the top of his head as the other two stared at him.

"The boss told us to keep watch. So you better keep watch and not sleep on the job!" one of the guards told him as the other picked up an apple and bit into it, "And hoggin' all the food," this one grunted with this mouth full making her cringe as she watched him chew, "Get back to work!"

Retreating back she found a spot to sit and shook the fruit out of her sleeve into her lap.

Picking up an orange she began to carefully peel off the skin, inhaling the citrus' scent before slowly pulling it apart and plopping each slice into her mouth. Her stomach settled and she briefly forgot just what was going on as she continued to eat.

The fruit had calmed her stomach, but there were some left overs and she knew that she would be hungry later on. She looked at the fabric of her sleeves carefully and felt the texture of the fabric. Placing her teeth on the edge of her right sleeve and yanking it as hard as she could at the seam and in with as much force as possible it came off. Settling it down on the tiles she carefully stacked the last few fruit onto it before slowly tying it up on the top to form a small little bag for her to carry them around.

Carefully tying the ends of her makeshift bag to her belt she stood up and peered out through the village, trying to figure out what to do next.

* * *

His hands were beginning to hurt after spending hours trying to break free of the cage he had been tossed in with his fist. He had no weapons and his cane was left back at his home, hidden and hopefully undiscovered.

Suspended above a bottomless pit, Rioichi Cooper was forced to stop his attempts to break free of his prison and tried to clear his mind from the boiling rage that had exploded yesterday.

Gently pressing down on the throbbing spots of his hands he looked around. Guards everywhere and prison cells was all he could see from above which only made him realize just how reckless he had been. Even if he had escaped, they would catch him again and might even restrict him from the use of his hands only making a second attempt more difficult. Sighing he continued to kneel on the small space considered the floor of his cage.

When he had woken up his daughter yesterday the ninja would never have thought he would be accused of a crime and tossed into jail by some strange tiger. Rioichi let out a low growl at the thought of that tiger and stared at the bars of the cage, fighting the temptation to rattle the cage to try and get out. His only hope now was that the tiger had not found his daughter. While he did tell her to stay hidden, she could only stay safe for so long before being found or forced to move.

But she was a Cooper.

And as a member of their clan a raccoon with quick thinking, she would surely have used her instincts to flee to safety.

"I hope she is safe," he whispered to himself despite his assurances.

With her blind eye she had been ridiculed often yet she had proven herself time and time again with her own way to handle any situation. However in the end she was still his little girl and she was alone with no clue what was going on. She must have been so terrified and was probably trying to find him at this moment. Rioichi could only hang his head in defeat and closed his eyes only to force himself to open them quickly at the sounds of footsteps heading his way. As he looked down he could feel the burning rage he had calmed down early as the very tiger who had brought him in for his "crime" came into view.

"How do you like your new home Cooper?" the tiger grinned as he lifted his cigar towards his cage, "The view is just perfect isn't it?" Rioichi could only glare down at him before letting out a snarl that echoed through the empty space startling the two guards accompanying the tiger. The tiger on the other hand looked amused before he continued, "Well don't worry, you won't be up there alone...I'm sure we could hang another cage next to you...Smaller."

Instantly Rioichi's heart stopped at his words and his ears immediately arose to their full stance. This reaction did not go unnoticed by the tiger as he puffed out a cloud of smoke, "Oh ho! You think I would not find her? The little brat threw a sack of rice at me, but no worries Cooper. Your little girl will be back with you."

"You hurt her and I will make sure you will know true suffering!" His body shook as he gripped the bars of his cage, snarling and growling as the tiger let out another laugh in amusement of his prisoner, "Oh Cooper, what can you do about it when you are...Hanging out?"

"You won't be laughing El Jefe when I get out of here!"

The ninja master thief could only keep his temper in check for so long. The thought of this tiger catching his daughter and hurting her...

"Big words from a trapped rat," the tiger, El Jefe, scoffed as he blew a ring of smoke towards him. Rioichi closed his eyes as the cloud few at him and forced himself not to cough at the disgusting scent of smoke. El Jefe turned to the two guards, "Tell everyone to keep a look out for that little rat. She should be an easy target for you all and also..." Rioichi gripped his hold on the cage's bars as El Jefe smirked at him, "Should keep our prisoner here to behave if he doesn't want his little girl all bruised up. Ha!" With that El Jefe tossed his used cigar into the pit and went on his way.

As soon as he was alone again, Rioichi fell to his knees and put his face into his hands.

"Henriette..."

He didn't care how, he only wished for a miracle to keep his daughter safe.

* * *

 ** _Can Henriette keep out of sight from the guards long enough? Add in dramatic music in now!_**

 ** _In all I hope you all enjoyed this chapter, until then~! Take care!_**


	3. Safe and Sound

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN SLY COOPER!**

 _ **Another update heading your way~ Your way~**_

 _ **Hope you all enjoy the story so far, it's heading to the game's timeline though I plan on changing up a few things here and there. Read on my readers!**_

 **Note: I apologize for all spelling and grammatical errors I have missed through my editing.**

* * *

Four days, four long agonizing days being spent in this cage of his.

While he was a prisoner the guards kept him well enough so he would not collapse against the bars of the cage from thirst or hunger. If keeping him alive meant tossing a piece of bread right at his head or just using a long stick with a small bucket of water for him to drink from. The experience had been humiliating to say the least and he did not keep silent about their ways of taking care of him.

The guards would try to with hold his food and water, but in the end would give it to him eventually as El Jefe wouldn't want the raccoon to waste away until he found his daughter. The tiger wanted the raccoon to plead and beg, so what was the point if he was not well enough to do that?

So far from what he heard from the guards from below, his daughter had continued to evade them and there had been a few times where a rumor was brought up that she would throw something at any guard who had attempted to chase her. Whenever he heard the gossip of the guards echoing from where he hung the ninja couldn't help, but snicker. His little girl was most definitely taking after their family ways sooner than he thought.

Though even hearing she was not found or caught didn't silence his worries as he sat in his cage.

While four days would seem just a short span of time, for Henriette and him the time apart was like years. Never had he left her alone unless he was out stealing. She herself had never been so far away from him except those nights.

Slowly groaning Rioichi could only stare down at the prison.

El Jefe had not returned to taunt him since that night when he gave out the order to find Henriette and Rioichi wondered what that tiger had been planning. He had never met him and he was certain that he would known of a "El Jefe" with a despicable personality as his. The raccoon could only sit in his cage and think to just what the tiger was planning.

All he did care about though was that El Jefe would never get his claws on Henriette.

Gripping hold on the bars he hoisted himself up and looked upward, the sunlight was slowly residing away and soon it would be nighttime. Rioichi sighed before leaning back in his cage to sink back down to the floor.

Sighing he forced himself to close his eyes, all he could do was wait.

* * *

The young raccoon gazed out to the sinking sun in the distance as she sat on the roof.

She had made it through another day.

By now her kimono was completely dirtied, both sleeves torn off from the seams. Her right sleeve still being used as a bag to carry any fruit or bread she stole from the guards. Her left sleeve had been used to tear into strips of fabric to tied around the palms of her hand to lessen the pain of grasping ropes and bamboo while the last remaining strip had been used as a hair tie to keep her hair out of her face.

Henriette had been using the roofs of the houses to travel through the village and where she hid during the daytime to rest. The past few nights had been hard for her as she continued to sleep in thickets of bamboo, jerking awake from all sounds of crickets and the metal armor of the guards clanging against each other as they kept watch through the village.

There had been one place she had hoped to try and get to tonight though to sleep.

Her father's secret fishing spot.

It was a very secret location and only she and him knew of it. Hidden away from the village in a cave carefully concealed by a small forest of bamboo and trees. If she could sneak in for that night perhaps she could temporary call it her base as long as she could until she found out where her father was.

Hopping down from the dangling rope of the last roof she had stayed on, Henriette began to head towards the sound of water in a distance as she crouched down. Carefully pushing away a few bamboo her ears perked up as she caught sight of the hidden stone path and eagerly began to run down it. The sounds of water had grown louder and as she stepped into the clearing that would soon lead her to the bridge, her heart sank. The bridge that lead into the cave was guarded.

The young raccoon felt the wave of despair crash down upon her as she watched the guards walk to and fro on the wooden bridge. Again strangers had placed themselves in another special place her father and her held dear. Taking one last look at the path to perhaps her last salvation, she began to turn away only to come face to face with a belly covered in metal plates.

Her eyes widen and her tail immediately wrapped itself around her torso as she realized who was in front of her. Behind her she could hear one of the many guards on the bridge make his way over and her knees began to buckle at each heavy foot fall.

Trembling at the sounds of the two guards' chuckle did she force herself to look up.

"Oh well lookie here," the guard in front of her taunted as he stared down at her, "A little brat. You've caused a lot of trouble and you better come with us if you don't want your papa hurt."

The words felt like a slap to her face.

She had desperately prayed that her father was only hiding just like her. Both of them missing each other in a desperate search around their village, but no.

They had captured her father!

Henriette could only shake and whimper as she looked back and forth between the two guards. There was no escape for her this time and the last apple she had stolen that day had served as her dinner. There was nothing for her to use and slowly she hung her head in defeat.

She suddenly remembered the tiger from the very first night she had left her home and gripped her tail tightly. If her father was caught that would only mean he was that tiger's prisoner. Who knew what was happening to him!?

"So you gonna be a good girl or what?" the guard behind her demanded and used his hoof to kick her lightly in the back. Henriette stumbled, barely catching herself from falling into the other guards belly, before shaking her head.

"Please don't hurt him," she quietly begged, "I'll come with you...Just don't..."

The guard behind her let out a snort as the one in front of her laughed in glee at her plea, "Well aren't you a good daughter. C'mon, move it!"

The raccoon let out a cry as she was pushed down to the ground from behind before scrambling up to her feet to avoid a kick in the face by the boar guard's hooves.

Her legs trembled with each step she took as the two guards stayed behind her. Her tail continued to wrap around her waist and her fingers gripped the front of her kimono as she walked. Her eye darted around the area, trying to find an opening of escape only to find there was no chance of escape or hide if she tried to run.

The two guards continued to call her a 'rat' and continuously jeered her to get a move on with a strong push along with the command that usually sent her face first into the stone path. By now they were slowly emerging from the concealed path to the fishing spot and closer to the village houses.

Until something caught her attention that made her stop suddenly. While it was quick, she swore she spotted a tail dart out of view on one of the rooftops.

She gasped in pain as a guard reached out and gripped her arm, his nails pinching her as he snarled. "The heck you waiting for you blind brat move!" Again she was thrown face first to the ground and she shot him a narrowed look. Of course they would use that jeer at her and she let out a quiet snarl only to cry out as the other guard grabbed hold of her hair. "You think you tough you little rat?!" he demanded.

The guard lifted her from the ground by her hair making her cry out as her fingers weakly clawed at his hand. The boar only laughed at her struggle and shook her causing her to hiss at the pain.

"T-This hurts let go!" she finally shouted and tried to pry his fingers from her hair.

This only made the guard angry and he growled, pulling her close to his face making her cough from the sudden smell of his breath right in her face. The pain of her hair being pulled was too much for her and she feared that the longer he held her up, the more likely her hair would be ripped off at the scalp.

Suddenly the first guard let out a sudden grunt, making the one holding her let go. Henriette fell on the ground again, hard on her bottom, making her tail shoot up at the pain. Letting out a quiet whine she gently rubbed her backside only to flinch at another grunt and faced forward.

She had expecting the two guards to be staring down at her and perhaps laughing at how weak she was.

Only to find someone else looking down at her.

Both of the boars were lying face down on the path, their bodies twisted oddly as if they had been dolls thrown outside without much care.

Behind them was a person she had never seen around the village or with the guards before. The young raccoon could only stare up at him with curiosity, though she wasn't sure if he was friend or foe.

He was a raccoon like her and her father.

However his was darker compared to her father's bright red fur. In fact his fur was a gray color much like her own if not a shade bit darker.

His tail swayed a bit as he looked down at the two knocked out guards in front of him and used his foot to poke at each one. When both guards did not react to the action the older raccoon grinned to himself before looking at her direction.

Again her tail curled around her torso as she looked at him with her one eye and tensed as he walked around the boar guards. Close up she finally noticed something in his hand, a cane with a bright golden C on the top...A similar shape like her father's cane.

The strange raccoon knelt in front of her and offered her his hand, "You look pretty roughed up," he finally spoke, "Did these guys hurt you badly?"

Henriette shook her head slowly as she pulled her tail closer to her, not taking a hold of his offered hand. Realizing that she was wary of him he pulled his hand back and placed it over his heart, "Hey don't worry...I'm not one of the bad guys," he told her before giving her a smile, "My name's Sly, can you tell me your name?"

The young raccoon stared at him in silence before shaking her head again. The older raccoon scratched his head, slightly moving the blue hat on his head. "Still scared huh?" Henriette nodded her head to his statement as he kept his smile on his face.

"Well...Do you know a man named Rioichi Cooper?" he asked her making her tail whip away from her torso as she leaned forward, "You know Papa?!" This time it was him backing away from her as he stumbled back. She quietly gasped as he fell onto his back, chuckling yet frowning from her outburst. Shyly the little raccoon bowed her head in apology to the older raccoon, "I-I'm sorry."

"Hey no worries," the raccoon-Sly-assured her as he righted himself back into kneeling in front of her, "But...Rioichi's your dad?"

"Yes," she quickly replied, "H-He's my Papa. I don't know where he is, but the guards said that he was captured and I-I don't know what to do! I want to find him!" Without meaning to her eyes began to water and she finally began to let the tears flow out. Sly quickly reached out to her and rested a hand on her shoulder, "It'll be okay. Don't worry. My friends and I are going to help you find him."

"R-Really?"

"Really," Sly told her as he watched her wipe away the tears from her eyes, "Will you come with me to our hideout? You'll be safer there."

Again he offered his hand to her.

Henriette stared at Sly's hand again before slowly reaching out and taking it. The older raccoon smiled at her before helping her stand up. He carefully used his left arm to hoist her up, allowing her to hold onto him with her arms around his neck and as his arm supported her like a seat. "Better hang on tight kiddo," he told her as he suddenly jumped into the air.

She let out a quiet cry of surprise and held tightly to him as they nearly flew in the air as he jumped from roof to roof. Sly chuckled at her response and quickly raised his cane just in time to hook it onto a rope.

Henriette could only stare at the passing houses in awe as they slid down the rope. When she was much younger her father had taken her on his back and would use his special technique to jump from one corner of a roof to another. The way Sly flew about and slid down the rope brought back the memory and she held onto him tighter.

"You doing okay kiddo?" Sly asked her at her sudden hold to him, "We can slow down if you-"

"...Henriette."

Sly jumped off the rope as they reached the end to a small area, "What was that?" The young raccoon smiled as she spoke up again, "My name's Henriette Cooper."

* * *

After Sly and his friends arrived to Japan, they immediately got to work after learning what had changed Rioichi's village. Sure enough Sly found many guards and the very prison that his ancestor was locked up in.

Bentley had assured him that they would get his ancestor out and to return back to the hideout after gathering enough photos for them to plan out their next move.

As he made his way back to the hideout, he came upon two guards with a young female raccoon in a dark blue kimono. He watched in horror as one of the guards shoved her to the ground and immediately sprung into action as another reached over to grab her by the hair.

Landing behind one guard Sly swung his cane as hard as he could, smacking the boar right into unconsciousness before making quick work of his friend as he turned around. Releasing the young raccoon Sly didn't give the boar enough time to react as his face met the cold metal of the curve of his cane. Both were out for the count and the young raccoon had stared at him in pure surprise.

It was only after he had convinced her to come with him back to the hideout and earned some part of her trust did he learn her name.

Henriette Cooper.

Otherwise would be known as Henriette "One Eye" Cooper, his thieving pirate ancestor who made a name for herself through the seven seas by stealing from other pirates and corrupt sailors.

To learn that he had landed with his friends around the time not one, but two of his ancestors existed came to a shock. Bentley himself was surprised when he returned back to their hideout with a much younger Henriette in his arms.

Much like before with him, Sly watched as she immediately had her tail curl around her at the sight of his friends. After much reassurance from him that his friends were not bad guys like him did Henriette tell them her name. Seeing Henriette act so shy and nervous only made him want to wrap her in his arms and calm her, he had been the same way after losing his parents to the Fiendish Five.

From the state of how dirty her clothes and how quickly she ate the sandwiches given to her by Murray, Henriette must have been hiding from the guards for a long while. Bentley had waited for her to finish her third sandwich before asking her what had happened.

"It was the tiger," she told them after a long pause, "He came to our restaurant four days ago and...He took Papa. I don't know why though. I ran out after I threw a sack of rice at him." Sly stopped himself from snickering at the idea of little Henriette throwing a large sack of rice to the tiger just as Bentley turned his laptop around to show her the picture he had taken of a tiger that was sulking around the Geisha House.

"Is this the tiger you're talking about Henriette?" his friend asked her and she instantly pointed to the screen, "Yes! That is him!" The way she immediately ducked down underneath the table too confirmed that the tiger was the one in charge of changing the usually peaceful village. Now that they found and confirmed the strange tiger would be who they had to face later on, did they turn their attention to the young raccoon under their table.

Sly watched as Murray looked under to see a curled up raccoon who had been through a lot during the past four days.

Separated from her father suddenly, chased around by many guards and struggled to keep herself hidden while finding shelter at night as well as food...Henriette had been through a lot. Sly could only figure she was not even close to eight years old and by her cautious nature to him and his gang that she hadn't been used to being alone.

Bentley shared a frown with him at her reaction as he bent down to coax her out, "Henriette, c'mon out," he called to her as Murray also spoke up, "Yeah. No worries! You're safe here. If any of those guards try to hurt you the Murray will crush them!"

"We can guarantee you won't have to be scared anymore Henriette," Bentley said as he rolled away from the table far enough to tilt his head at angle to look at her, "Nothing bad will happen to you. Promise."

The young raccoon stared at all of them both before slowly crawling out from the table.

She turned her attention to all three of them individually, with one wide brown eye before turning her head to Sly, "Will you really find Papa, Sly-san? And help him?"

"Of course," he said as he nodded to Bentley and Murray, "And with Bentley and Murray here, we'll be working together to get Rioichi out. You can count on us." Henriette slowly stood up from the floor before hugging him tight around the waist, making him freeze at the action.

"Thank you Sly-san!"

He forced himself to swallow down the lump in his throat as he glanced over to Bentley who nodded. Relaxing in her hug he gently patted her on the top of the head, "No worries...We'll get him back," he promised.

* * *

 ** _Really hope you enjoyed this update and chapter! Until then~!_**


	4. Free and Reunited

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN SLY COOPER! ZIP, NADA, NON! I DO NOT OWN!**

 _ **Did someone call for a...Update?!**_

 _ **What is wrong with me I have no idea. The chapter we've all been waiting for...The busting out of prison! I'm not quite sure this chapter is well written than I should have done, but all the same I hope you all enjoy it. I want to thank everyone who has read, reviewed, followed and favorite this story. As always I'm very happy to know you all are enjoying the story!**_

 **Note: All spelling and grammatical errors I have missed, I apologize for. Read on~!**

* * *

Henriette had slowly begun to be more comfortable with the gang by the time Sly had to leave later that night.

It had occurred to them all that it would be best to get Rioichi out now after finding Henriette. Not only would the guards be on higher alert now that they were in Japan, but for Henriette's sake. While she had been preoccupied with all their future gadgets, she was still thinking and worrying about her father. If anything it seemed she was slowly attaching herself to Sly being that he was a raccoon just like her and as it was he resembled her father in some sense.

The young raccoon followed him around the hideout, grabbing hold of his sleeve to stop him a few times to ask him questions about the van and Bentley's wheelchair. His tech whiz friend had even allowed Henriette to play about with the keys of his laptop for a while before she decided to be back at his side.

She was like a little sister more than anything at the moment.

Though it was still so odd for him to see Henriette so young.

In the Thievius Raccoonus her pages illustrated her adventures on the seven seas with her crew with all the risks she made, but always came out victorious for her bold strategy to take her prize at the end of the day. The way her words were furiously scrawled upon her pages showed her personality. Someone who was bold if not a little reckless, but who had confidence in herself and had no problems with fighting for what she believed was right.

Her words had always drawn him into her stories and he thought that he was with her as she sailed through the seas. While Rioichi's tales had always been his favorite, Henriette had to be his second favorite ancestor.

The Henriette with them now though was just a young girl who had a very shy personality. If the person who was trying to erase Cooper history hurt Rioichi, what would happen to Henriette if she lost her father too early? According to Cooper tradition the Thievius Raccoonus and her training would not happen until she was eight years old. With Rioichi out of the picture it would leave Henriette with no one to teach her the ways of their family and may alter her history severely if she was orphaned before inheriting her birthright on time.

She would never have left Japan to travel the world until settling on being a pirate.

So the time to get Rioichi out was now and they had to make quick work of it.

"Okay Sly," Bentley handed back his binocucom, "I've made just the right plan for us to bust Rioichi out. Just head on out until you find a safe position and I'll give you all the details."

"Got it buddy," Sly replied before looking over to Henriette, "Alright kiddo, we're going to be getting your dad out. So I need you to stay here with Murray and Bentley." The young raccoon's ears fell, but she nodded in agreement. Her tail immediately curled around her, a sign Sly soon realized was one of fear. She was afraid for his safety and that he would be captured just like Rioichi.

Looking at the young raccoon Sly instantly remembered himself back in the orphanage and how his own tail would do the same thing. This only made him more determined to get Rioichi out and reunite the ninja master thief with his much younger pirate ancestor. He didn't want her to face the same fears he did when he was forced to live without his parents from some interference of fate.

Sly reached out and gently ruffled her hair making her whine in protest that made them all chuckle as she tried to fix it back into place. Her right eye hidden again with her long bangs, "...Stay safe Sly-san."

"I will, and don't worry. You're dad will be so happy to see you." Henriette smiled at his words as he pushed the leaves concealing their hideout away before quickly running out into the village.

* * *

Henriette patiently sat next to Bentley as they stared at the...Laptop, Bentley had told her that was the name of the odd object on the table, and were waiting to hear from Sly. Behind her she could hear Murray busy in the small section of their hideout they considered the kitchen. Making another snack probably for himself and her as she hadn't eaten much.

The hippo had been very affectionate to her and was very happy to share the many snacks he had made when she told to him how she was hungry in the first few hours since her arrival. She never saw someone eat so much so fast, but after all food was one of the few things that made everyone happy. Murray was perhaps one of the most happiest if not easiest person to get along in the whole world and whenever she had started to become worried about the guards outside he made her smile.

"The Murray will make sure they'll taste their own armor if they come in here!" he had told her and gave her a huge hug to which she accepted.

Bentley was someone she had been more curious towards than cautious.

His strange chair with wheels was known as a wheelchair. He never left it and soon Henriette realized that much like how she could not see through her right eye, he could not use his legs and instead had the chair to do his travelling for him. What intrigued her was also the metal arms and odd tools he kept with him...Including the laptop.

The turtle had seen her search around their hideout and stare at the many tools they had. With some urging Henriette played a bit on his laptop to show her that it wasn't dangerous and even showed her how to turn it on and off by a magical button placed inside it. The turtle was also very smart and she wondered if he was a scholar back from wherever Sly and his friends had come from.

Speaking of Sly...

The young raccoon had quickly grown very attached to the older raccoon and had spent the first few hours of her time in the hideout following him around before venturing out. Instead of shooing her away like most adults, Sly only smiled at her and let her be. It was like he was an older brother to her, if she had ever had one.

And though there were slight differences between the two, she could see her father in him.

It was...Odd, but gave her a sense of comfort to have him around.

Now she sat with Bentley and was waiting for Sly to...Contact them?

Henriette glanced over to Bentley as he continued to press the many buttons on his laptop before looking at the square section of it called the screen. Could they really see and hear what Sly saw when he used that device Bentley had given him before he left? She wanted to ask, but she had a feeling any explanation would only create more questions. They were from a very different place...It would only complicate things and her father had always told her to wait instead of asking so many questions.

"Eventually the answer will reveal itself in time," he had told her gently, "There is only so much for us to know now, in time everything will be revealed. So do not rush."

Thinking of her father she quickly let out a quiet whine despite trying her hardest to stay calm.

"You miss him huh?"

She turned to see Bentley smiling towards her, "Hey don't worry it's understandable," he explained, "If anything...I have someone I miss too."

"You do? Who are they?" she asked curiously as Bentley showed her a small square from his shell to her. It was an image of a mouse with bright blond hair and light lavender like fur. She was wearing a red handkerchief around the top of her hair and had odd orange colored spectacles. "She is pretty," Henriette told Bentley as she handed the image back, "Is she your wife?"

Instantly the turtle blushed before laughing, "No, no, no she's not! We're still much too young for marriage just yet Henriette," he told her as he smiled at the image, "Her name's Penelope and she means the world to me. She's been gone too and I really hope she's safe."

"You will find her," the young raccoon quickly interjected, "I'm sure you will Bentley-san. You found my father very easily so you will find Penelope-san just as fast." Bentley only gave her a smile and a chuckle, "Yeah...I hope so."

"Bentley, am I interrupting something?"

"Sly-san?" Immediately Henriette glanced around the hideout in surprise at the older raccoon's voice, "Where are you?"

Bentley tapped her on the shoulder before pointing to his laptop. On the small square before them was an image of a large castle like building, guards walking to and fro on the bridge and one standing in front of the large door. Henriette gulped at the sight and on instinct sank low in her seat until only her eyes were seen on the table's edge. Beside her Bentley shook his head before pressing a button allowing a small square of Sly come to view making her raise up only a bit.

"Sorry about that Sly, Henriette was asking me a few things no worries," the turtle explained as he looked at the screen, "Now Sly, this place is locked down tighter than...Well, tighter than something."

On the screen she could see Sly open his mouth to laugh a bit, "Your database security? Murray's pants?" he offered only to have the turtle give him an expression of slight annoyance and shook his head, "Whatever Sly, this is no laughing matter! I've checked and..."

He hesitated while giving Henriette a quick glance before continuing, "There really is no way in except for the front entrance."

The young raccoon gulped loudly and stared up at Bentley. If there was no way inside secretly...Then how would Sly get inside?

"I think there's only one option for us to use," he quickly said as he seemed to notice her ears drooping down. On screen she could see Sly frowning before smirking, "The doorbell?"

Henriette quickly let out a tiny little giggle at his sudden answer making Bentley sigh, but grin in relief that she didn't start crying. "Oh very funny," he scolded his friend, "But no. You're going to need a disguise. Get yourself a suit of armor from those guards. That's our ticket inside."

"Roger that. Just call me...Samurai Sly."

And with that the screen and Sly's voice disappeared again and they were left staring at a black square. Henriette watched as Bentley rolled back with his chair to turn to face her, "Sorry about that Henriette," he told her, "I uh...I may have accidentally scared you with what I said earlier."

She shook her head, "No...It's okay. I need to stop being...So scared."

"Hey it's alright to be scared sometimes," the turtle told her and gave her a light pat on her shoulder, "Hey how about you get some sleep? You look pretty tired right now. I need to keep myself by my laptop to hear and talk to Sly. Murray and I will wake you up if anything happens."

"I'm not...Sleepy."

Though try as she might Henriette's mouth immediately opened to let out a yawn before she slouched forward. It was really late...And sleeping in a safe place was something she had been looking forward to. For once she was not going to rest in some bamboo thicket, but in a warm place with two people she trusted.

Another yawn left her mouth and suddenly she slumped forward until her forehead rested on the table. Beside her she could faintly hear Bentley chuckle as Murray came up to her and lifted her up from her seat. She could feel the hippo move her away and placed her on a very soft surface.

Instantly she curled her body up and began to slowly sink into sleep as Murray placed something, a blanket, over her. "Good night, sleep tight kiddo," the hippo whispered as she gave him a smile to let him know she heard. Soon she fell into the first peaceful sleep since the first night she had left home.

* * *

"Hey food you rat!"

Rioichi forced himself to not open his eyes as a half eaten apple was chucked right into his cage. He waited a few moments before grabbing it and throwing it back out with as much precision and force he could muster back at the retreating guard. The apple came in direct contact on the boar's backside making him squeal in surprise before turning around.

"Hey!"

"What is wrong? You did not want it back?" Rioichi questioned as he stood with a bored expression on his face, "I do not eat leftovers from pigs." The guard slowly began to become red in the face, but because of El Jefe's orders could not do anything to the raccoon and stormed away.

The ninja grinned to himself before sighing. He had hoped angering them enough would make them try to bring his cage down to fight him physically, but they were a bit too scared of the tiger and slightly smarter than he had anticipated. The raccoon knelt back down and forced his eyes closed, only to open them as the clanging of armor headed his direction.

Forcing himself to look down he caught sight of a guard, though smaller than the boars as his armor was ill fitted to his body. Upon spotting his cage the guard quickly called out to him.

"Hey! Rioichi Cooper! Are you okay?"

The ninja could only narrow his eyes, what was this guard's ploy? Did he look okay? No he was not okay. He was very angry and very worried, those were not the emotions of someone who was "okay." Snarling slightly Rioichi rolled his eyes with a light scoff, "You guards all seem to make very poor jokes!"

The guard seemed a bit surprised at his response, but quickly shook his head realizing something. Rioichi also studied the guard too. He had not seen this one around and it was obvious he was not a boar.

"C'mon! I'm not one of those bozos!" The guard quickly glanced around before removing his helmet to reveal a face of a raccoon in a black mask making him blink in surprise, "I'm here to bust you out! The name's Sly."

Rioichi immediately stood up and bowed, "Ah, I see! A fellow ninja! Very good!" The other raccoon smiled to see he had recognized him as an ally before snapping his fingers, "Ah that's right...Henriette is safe too. We just need to get you out and you both will be back together."

"You found my daughter?" Rioichi felt his heart leap with joy at the other's words and a rush of relief came upon him. Now that he knew this raccoon, Sly, was on his side and not on El Jefe's there was a small sliver line of hope threading through the fog of despair El Jefe had tried to bring him. With news of his daughter safe Rioichi could feel finally feel the heavy weight on his shoulders lifted.

"You will need to make your way to the Dragon Bridge to reach this cage," he instructed Sly as he pointed to the long stone bridge behind him. He was unsure how the raccoon would make it to his cage, but if he had gotten by the guards with such a simple trick Rioichi had complete faith that he would make it up easily, "Please hurry up!"

Sly nodded and quickly placed the guard helmet back on his head, "Okay I'll be there soon, just...Stay put!"

For once Rioichi let himself laugh, though it was a slightly forced one. "Ha ha, very funny," he complimented Sly as he watched him disappear around the corner. With Sly gone Rioichi fell down to the floor of his cage to let out a sigh of relief. Henriette was safe and El Jefe was not going to have the chance of getting his dirty claws on her. It had been a miracle to hear she was safely hidden away and under the watch of this Sly and his friends.

If they were assisting in helping him escape from this prison and had taken care of Henriette, he was certain he could trust this raccoon and his friends.

All that was left to do now was to, of course, wait for Sly to get to the cage and to flee from the prison with him. It had only been a short while until the large gate of the bridge opened and Rioichi immediately turned around to see Sly in his armor make his way across the bridge.

However he had forgotten to warn the raccoon of the switch that would activate the bridge's security system, smacking himself hard in the head as he heard an echo of "Oops," reach over to him.

"This is not good," he muttered to himself as he kept hold of his bars and peered through to watch the bridge break apart. While he really should not enjoy other's sufferings, he did slightly enjoy seeing the guards panic before clinging to what little stone the bridge was left for them to grab onto. The ninja's eyes widen as stone dragons suddenly emerged from the depths of the pit and watched as Sly switched from the stolen armor to his own clothing while jumping across the pit on the remaining last pillars of the bridge.

Rioichi narrowed his eyes in interest as he watched the young raccoon.

The jumps he executed were very close to his own move, the Ninja Spire Jump.

How the younger raccoon had learned about it he did not know, but he was very impressed at how well Sly maneuvered himself across the abyss.

Though now that he was slowly coming closer did Rioichi notice the slight resemblance of himself in the younger raccoon. In fact now that he was going in and out of that armor did Rioichi notice the cane in his hands.

Unlike his wooden one though, Sly's was made of a much darker wood and had the C curve made from gold. The skills and the cane the raccoon had made the ninja wonder just who the raccoon was. Sly finally jumped from the last remaining pillar of stone and grasped hold onto the cage. They swung slightly at his added weight, but Rioichi remained unfazed before speaking, "I do not know you," Rioichi said as he looked closely at Sly through the bars, "But only a true Cooper could have reached this cage..."

Sly let out a nervous laugh at his words before clearing his throat, "Uh well actually, yeah," he replied as he looked at him, "I didn't want to alarm you, but my full name is Sly Cooper. I'm your relative...Uh, from the future."

The future?

Had the past four days never occurred Rioichi would find it impossible and dismiss the young raccoon, but from the appearance of El Jefe to the disturbance of peace around the village...It was possible. "Do not worry," he assured Sly, "Ninja are never alarmed. With all that has happened here lately...I believe you." Sly smiled at him as he too finally allowed himself to smile as well for the first time in four days. Though the sense of peace was cut short as the cage began to shake slightly as the destruction of the bridge started to shake the prison.

"Now perhaps you would open the cage so that we may escape certain death?" Rioichi quickly suggested as they both stared at the chains that kept his cage up above the pit rattle a little too loudly, "Right! Of course!"

Sly quickly swung himself to the front of his cage, taking hold of his cane and using the end to destroy the lock. The cage's door opened and Rioichi smirked as he finally stood up fully. Though his smirk disappeared as the cage began to rattle and the chains began to break one by one as the prison kept shaking. Grabbing hold of the upper bar Rioichi swung himself up, grabbing hold of Sly's arm to pull the younger of the two up. Sly pushed himself up quickly only to wobble as the cage's last chain finally broke from its hold.

Quickly, Rioichi reached up to grab the last chain and spotted Sly's cane in arms reach. With his quick reflexes he grabbed the cane and used the hook to grab hold of the other's shirt collar, grunting as he kept a strong hold on the cane with Sly's weight. The other grinned up at him as Rioichi swung his arm forward that allowed Sly the leverage he needed to fly up into the air and grab hold of the chain just in time.

"Thanks," his relative grinned as he took back his cane and they began their ascent upward on the chain.

When they reached the top he was surprise to see a hippo with a rickshaw along with a turtle seated in the back. "No time to talk we gotta get going!" the turtle told the two as he shifted in his seat to make room, "Murray when we go, don't stop!"

"No worries Bentley, the Murray Express is a one way transport to safety!" the hippo exclaimed as Sly helped Rioichi in. The ninja blinked in surprise as he noticed a small bundle of blankets right beside him, "What is-"

"PAPA!"

The blanket was soon discarded to the side as something small, but familiar hugged him around the neck.

"Henriette!"

His daughter's face was buried in the crook of his neck as he immediately wrapped his arms around her, pulling her closer. "You're safe...You're safe," the ninja chanted as he hugged his daughter.

Her body was so small in his arms, but he knew it was only his overprotective nature emerging as he held her. She was no long a baby, but feeling her warm fur against him brought him back to the day she was born. Never was he going to let her go or leave her alone again.

After a moment he gently pulled out of their embrace to take a closer look at her. Her kimono's sleeves had been torn away, but from the little bag tied to her belt, the wraps around her hands and hair tie she had been as resourceful as she could while using with the fabric. The state of her hair and fur along with her clothes was slightly dirtied, but the smile on her face was all he cared for as he pulled her into a hug again.

His little girl kept a strong hold around his neck, but he did not mind as he gently patted her on the back as she let out quiet sobs. "Papa, I was so scared I w-wouldn't see you again," she sobbed as he smiled, holding back the tears threatening to flow out of his eyes as he heard her cry. "I was afraid I would never see you again too my little one," he whispered, "I could not stop thinking of how scared you must have been. I am very proud how you kept yourself as safe as you could. You are very brave...Remember that."

He was aware that Sly and his friends, the turtle and hippo, were watching him, but he did not stop hugging Henriette who also gave no indication she was gong to let go. Blinking back the tears the ninja looked at the three who had rescued and reunited him with his daughter. "I believe we are still in the prison?" he spoke up as the turtle let out a gasp, "Oh right! Hit it Murray!"

The hippo grabbed hold of the rickshaw's handles and gave them a grin, "Keep all arms and feet inside the rickshaw at all times! The Murray Express is ready to leave, NOW!" The speed and strength the hippo had shook the cart making all the passengers inside yelp as they charged forward. Rioichi kept hold of his daughter as Henriette stared out in awe as guards flew in all directions as the hippo barreled through.

Beside them Sly leaned back with his hands behind his head, obviously relaxing and enjoying the ride as the turtle in the front gripped the front of the rickshaw tightly while yelling for Murray to be careful. Henriette had remained quiet until they broke through the door leading outside, Rioichi held back a laugh as his little girl cheered as they trampled the very last guard in their way to freedom.

One of Sly's eyes opened and he sent a smirk towards Rioichi to which the ninja returned.

This was one family reunion indeed.

* * *

 ** _Oh wow this is probably the longest chapter I've had in a long time._**

 ** _But yeah, added the bit about Penelope-Though we all know what will happen, but still!_**

 ** _Anyway I hope you enjoyed this chapter, more coming your way as soon as I can type on up! Until then~!_**


	5. To Acceptance

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN SLY COOPER!**

 _ **Move along, move along like i know you do~! I know I'm updating this story really quickly, but it's mainly because I'm on a huge roll! It's so hard not to stop! Hopefully I'll be keeping up this pace for this as well as for my other stories.**_

 _ **Without further ado here comes another chapter~**_

 **Note: All spelling and grammatical errors I have missed, I apologize for. Enjoy!**

* * *

The ride in the rickshaw had to be the best for Henriette as Murray stormed past guard after guard in their way.

Well, second best perhaps.

The best thing for Henriette was that her father was back with her. Unlike her, he did not look so dirtied as she was. His clothing had remained as well kept as they had been on the day they were separated.

Instead she noticed her father's eyes were a little red, a sign he hadn't been sleeping in the prison. Though as Murray lead them back to the hideout with the rickshaw she saw him close his eyes as he kept hold of her. Now that he knew she was safe at least he could get some rest as Murray continued to lead them back to the hideout. It was truly a relief to have him back, and she had Sly and his friends to thank for that.

Turning her head she looked at the other raccoon as he seemed to be enjoying the bumpy ride. She watched as he spoke to Bentley who was too busy to really reply back as he kept his eyes trained to the road in order to instruct Murray where to go.

This stranger from another place had come to help them and while she was grateful, she was curious. Why was it he and his friends were helping? Were they friends of her father?

Though she doubt it...Her father always told her of his travels when he had been younger before he married her mother and she was born. Never had he said anything about friends like these three and only had one companion during his thieving journey when he was younger. That had been a great white shark, a shark she had seen in the tapestries hanging about their restaurant and helped their sushi restaurant become a success.

She had wanted to ask Sly how he knew her father, but for some reason much like how she wanted to ask Bentley who his laptop and the device worked she chose not to.

It would all be revealed in time.

"We have approached our destination!" Murray announced as he skid to a halt, making them all jolt forward. Her father jerked up and his arm around her tightened to prevent her from falling forward. "Nice driving Murray," Sly complimented his friend and gave the hippo a thumbs up.

"All in a day's work," Murray said as he helped Bentley out of the rickshaw while Sly took the wheelchair out from where it had been folded up to the ground. Bentley let out a sigh as he slumped a bit in his seat before shaking his head, "Maybe we should have taken the van," he muttered as he began to wheel himself inside, "Let's get in before the sun comes up."

"Good idea," Sly agreed as her father stood up and jumped off the edge of the rickshaw. Henriette also stood and began to swing her leg over only to let out a groan as her father's hands scooped her right out and set her down. "Papa, I could have gotten out myself," she lightly scolded him.

"I was only making sure you could," he replied before offering her his hand. The young raccoon pouted, but just giggled before holding his hand. The familiar feeling of her tiny hand in his large one gave her a little skip in her step as she and him went into the hideout.

From the corner of her eye she could see Sly stare after them, a smile on his face yet there was something in his eyes as he watched. She couldn't quite tell what that look meant, but had no time as her father lifted her up from the ground again. On instinct she immediately wrapped her arms around his neck as he slowly glanced around the hideout. Much like her he too was curious of the odd contraptions around them and stared at the van in interest from where it was placed.

Bentley rolled over to the side of the table while Murray and Sly pulled out stools. "Now I know we just got you out Rioichi," Bentley said as he rolled out a large piece of parchment on the table, "But we need to know who put you there in the first place." Henriette peered from where she was in her father's arms to see it was a full drawing of their village from a bird's eye view. Her father nodded and pulled one of the stools away from the table before setting her down on it.

"Henriette was sure to have told you about what happened four days ago," he began as he stared down at the map, "We were going to open the shop until I felt a disturbance..." She leaned forward a bit as he slowly took out a small block of wood from his pocket, "I asked Henriette to hide in the kitchen before opening the door. There I met a tiger who had called himself...El Jefe."

Before she could blink the block was suddenly dropped onto the table with a quick spin.

Her father grabbed one of the few kitchen knives set out nearby and swung the blade as the block spun. When it stopped a small wooden shape of the tiger that had caused them trouble was presented to them.

"He had said I had committed a crime of serving bad sushi to the shogun of our area, which was a lie," her father growled as he looked at the wooden figure with distaste, "Before I could do anything his men had taken me away from my shop, and my daughter." Henriette's ears drooped slightly as she looked up at him as he kept speaking to the others, "He had threatened to find her and put her in a cage just like me...I was powerless if not for you finding her before him and rescuing me, I would have thought the very worse."

Her father stared down at her and Henriette watched as his eyes began to look glassy the longer he looked at her. It was then she realized her father was about to cry.

Immediately she stood up from her stool and hugged him around his waist. His hand rested on the top of her head and gently combed his fingers through her hair, "I cannot thank you enough." Henriette peeked out to the trio who had helped them and watched as they smiled after hearing her father's words.

"I couldn't let you and her suffer," Sly finally spoke up and Henriette saw a look similar to the one her father did before he left her alone at night on a mission to steal something from an evil criminal. His eyes had a fire burning in them as if lit to last throughout the coldest of nights.

He had been and was determined to keep them safe.

Bentley picked up the wooden figure of the tiger and pulled it closer to his face. "I feel like...I seen him somewhere from INTERPOL's files," he mused as he wheeled over to his laptop, "Just give me a while as I try to crack into INTERPOL's criminal database files. I'm going to see just how much dirt I can dig up about this guy! He needs to be taken down for sure!" With that the turtle hunched over and she could hear clicking noises as he pressed buttons rapidly with his fingers. Removing her arms from her father's waist she stared at the sitting turtle and glanced over to Murray and Sly.

Murray was starting to move away from the table towards the kitchen and Sly seemed to be going in the direction towards Bentley.

"Thank you for helping us!"

Her voice came out a bit louder than intended, echoing through the space stopping Bentley for a moment as Murray let out a small gasp of surprise. Ever since she had been in their presence she had not really raised her voice loudly. Her cheeks began to slowly heat up and she was sure that her face was the same color if not nearly as dark as her father's red fur. Taking in a deep breath she bowed as low as she could, even the hair of her ponytail flipped forward as she began to speak again.

"Thank you so much Sly-san, Bentley-san and Murray-san for helping me escape those guards and keeping me safe and teaching me about what you have and f-feeding me snacks and freeing my Papa a-and helping us and-"

A hand rested on her shoulder and shook her a bit. This stopped her from continuing and she lifted her head to see Sly in front of her.

The raccoon stared down at her in silence before kneeling down to the floor and pulling her into a hug. The action surprised her and she hesitated before wrapping her arms around him. "Both of you safe is all we need," he whispered to her as he held her and Henriette nodded as she looked out towards Bentley and Murray. Murray gave her a wide smile and a gesture with his fingers in a fist, but with his thumb up. Bentley also smiled towards her from his laptop and only let out a quiet chuckle before looking back at the screen.

From the corner of her eye she could see her father looking at her being hugged by Sly. She watched as only a small tear finally escaped from the corner of his eye which quickly was wiped away as he gave her a smile.

* * *

Watching his descendant and daughter hug made the small restrain of Rioichi's emotions to fall down.

It had been a bit much for him to take and he allowed only one tear to escape before wiping it away. Only Henriette had seen it and she had kept quiet about her Papa crying. Obviously she was still unaware of Sly's connection to them and even without that knowledge seemed to be close to Sly from their meeting only a few hours ago before he met Sly.

After Sly released Henriette from the hug Rioichi watched as he nervously laughed before insisting that Henriette catch up with him. His daughter had agreed only after giving Sly one last hug before releasing him to Bentley. The turtle continued to tap the buttons on his...Folded up squares on the table? Perhaps he could inquire more about this tool after listening to his daughter.

Settling down in a corner not too far away, Rioichi leaned against the back of the chair as his daughter sat next to him with his arm wrapped around her shoulders.

"What happened to your kimono?" he asked after a moment of silence, "It was your favorite one and now..."

He watched Henriette regard her bare arms with a blank expression before shrugging, "I had to do what I had to," she answered him, "After they took you, I slept in a thicket of bamboo on the outskirts of the village Papa. When I woke up I tore my sleeve so I could carry around fruit I took from a guard. I also managed to avoid them by using the ropes and bamboo around the village to climb and cross from the rooftop to rooftop." She showed him her wrapped hands, "I had to tear the other sleeve to make these wraps, my palms started to hurt a lot after the second day."

Rioichi looked at her hands and gently pressed a finger in her palm watching her stare at his actions with curiosity. Obviously the wraps gave her enough protection as she didn't flinch away or show any signs of feeling uncomfortable from his fingers. Had they been poorly tied there would be some soreness left, but Henriette had been very careful. He took in her ragged appearance before carefully pushing aside her bangs revealing her blind eye.

Like many times she gave a small jerk to move away, but stayed still as he looked at her eye.

The white iris could only stare straight ahead though he could see it move a bit in jerky motions when her good eye was directed towards a certain direction. He finally let her bangs fall down onto her face before reaching into his pocket and handing it over to her.

Henriette tilted her head to the side before carefully taking it, slowly unfolding a mask carefully fashioned from a dark blue fabric. It was quite similar to his own, but only had one eye hole which was meant for her left eye. He watched as she held it up and stared at it in curiosity before looking at him for an explanation.

"I was going to give you that on that day," he told her as he took it from her and folded, "As you know...We of the Cooper family are thieves of honor. Henriette you will soon be of age to receive the training and our family heritage for you to follow our family line." With the mask now folded back into its previous form, he gently took her right hand and placed it on her palm, "I do not know what will happen, but know this...Whether you decide to change your mind or continue on this path our family has had since the beginning of time, I want you to know I am very proud of you."

He had given it much thought while they were escaping the prison.

These past four days had tested Henriette and while he could easily see her future as a thief, he also wondered if perhaps she would have doubts on following that path. Perhaps she saw just how awful being chased was and how hard it would be if she were to ever face exposure. He watched as Henriette unfolded the mask again, staring at it, "It is up to you Henriette."

His daughter stared at the fabric in silence, her fingers kneading it until she looked up at him.

He watched as she lifted the mask up, and placed it over her face.

Rioichi could only watch in stunned silence as she tied it in place before willing himself to reach out to comb her bangs back in their proper place. With the mask in place her blind eye was covered, but her good eye looked at him with a spark in its brown depths. She gave him a smile before giggling, "Papa, I'll be the best Cooper thief ever...Just you wait."

The ninja master thief could feel his throat tighten and he gave his daughter another one of many more hugs to come for her. She giggled, but he could feel her tiny hands grip the back of his shirt as she held onto him. Henriette was still young, but he was certain...If there was anyone who would make him very proud it would be her. She was growing up so fast...And he prayed that they would make it out of whatever trouble they were in to ensure she would have a future.

He blinked suddenly when he felt her go limp and pulled away before chuckling.

His little girl's eye was closed and she let out quiet breathes as she kept a grip on his shirt. "Sleeping while hugging your old man," he chuckled and placed her in his arms to take her to a small futon laid out not too far from where they had sat. Lying her down, he stroked her hair before placing a light kiss to her forehead, "Goodnight my little one."

* * *

 _ **And so Henriette has finally accepted on becoming a thief!**_

 ** _By the way, the flower amaryllis has the meaning of "shy" in the Japanese language of flowers while in the Western language of flowers means "pride." Connections~~~! This chapter is the point of Henriette slowly growing up!_**

 ** _Quick little chapter to move us along. Much more heading your way soon!_**

 ** _Hope you all enjoyed it! Until then~!_**


	6. Lingering Thoughts and Family Warmth

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN SLY COOPER! REPEAT, NO OWN!**

 _ **Gonna just leave this update here, enjoy!**_

 **Note: I apologize for any missed spelling and grammatical errors in this chapter. Read on~!**

* * *

Watching Rioichi place Henriette to sleep, Sly returned back to Bentley's laptop screen. It had been...Hard not to say anything else to the ninja master thief and his daughter. It was also hard to not eavesdrop on the two as they settled in a secluded spot of the hideout. By the way Rioichi held Henriette close to him Sly could only guess the conversation between the two would be very personal and was meant for just the two of them.

Henriette's thanks to them had been a surprise compared to Rioichi's.

It must have taken her a lot of preparation to even think about saying what she said. Though seeing her bow to them and thank them had been a bit much and he had hugged the younger version of his pirate ancestor.

His ancestors had been through enough and the time to restore peace to their village and their lives was now.

"Sly-san, Bentley-san." He looked to his side to see Rioichi by his shoulder, peering at Bentley's laptop in confusion and awe. He had to hold back a chuckle the longer the ninja master thief kept staring at the screen.

He was being like Henriette and was very interested before he shook his head. "Is there anything?" he finally asked tearing his eyes away and focusing on Bentley. The Brains of his gang pressed a few more buttons before an image of El Jefe appeared in a small window box on the side of the screen with an alarming amount of records brought up in many more window boxes. "As A matter of fact, I found plenty," Bentley smiled as he presented his findings to them all.

Murray crept up to Bentley's other side, scarfing down helpings of rice into his mouth as he listened.

"El Jefe has quite a file in INTERPOL's databases," Bentley began as he read off from his screen, "In his file, he's been known for taking over dozens of small countries around the globe. When he takes over he then gives those countries away to other people who are willing to bid at a very high price to take them. El Jefe's gotten quite the reputation of being the best mercenary and military strategist money can buy."

"He's that good?" Sly questioned as he skimmed over the file with Bentley, "This guy's gotta have some sort of deal breaker though."

"Oh no, he's definitely the best. It even says here that he bragged on overthrowing a country with only three blind mice that only had spoons before taking the country," Bentley explained and pointed to a particular paragraph on the screen. Sly leaned in a bit as Murray paused in his eating to take in the information. Sure enough there had been a statement made by El Jefe about the blind mice armed with spoons. Murray let out a whistle as Sly scratched his head, "There's no way INTERPOL could not have just given the guy the slip that easily."

Bentley shook his head and scrolled down to the bottom of one of the windows, "Oh no, in fact they were going after him as hard as they could," he explained as he read off the page, "It says right here that they were very close to arresting him on the spot at his place, only to find that he had mysteriously vanished." Sly glanced over to Rioichi who stared at the wooden figure of El Jefe they had left out on the table.

The raccoon held the small figure tightly in his fingers that Sly thought the feeble piece of wood would break. While the Thievius Raccoonus had given him an idea that his ninja master ancestor was a raccoon who did not succumb to his emotions, it appeared that it was the opposite as he studied him carefully. His eyes were narrowed at the statue and his hand shook the longer he held it, a sign of him trying not to break it.

Had they perhaps come to a time before Henriette was born, Sly was sure his ancestor would be a little calmer. However for some strange reason they had went further and come to the point where Henriette existed. El Jefe had surely done enough damage for Rioichi to lose a bit of his patience.

Caging him and then threatening to do the same to his little girl.

Though Sly couldn't blame him.

"And he appeared in my time and in my village," Rioichi spoke up as he released the tiger figure and gave it to Sly who accepted it immediately. He hoped the older raccoon wouldn't change his mind and quickly set it down on the spot they had marked with a large red X.

"Yes this solves his vanishing act alright," Bentley agreed as he and Murray came over to stare down at the map, "We need to figure out what he's planning and get him as soon as we can. Who knows what plans or damage he's been doing in your time Rioichi. So our first step is taking back your sushi shop."

Sly could see the slight twitch on Rioichi's lips at Bentley's words, "That...Would be most excellent," he finally said as his tail swayed a bit too fast for Sly's liking. His ancestor was really going to enjoy doing this and again, Sly couldn't really blame him. From his home and business being invaded by a strange tiger from the future and that very same tiger threatening to cage Henriette, Rioichi would have wanted to get back at El Jefe. The biggest payback would be to send the message to El Jefe that the Cooper Clan were not raccoons to mess with through busting back into his sushi shop the tiger had tried to shut down.

Bentley nodded, happy to see Rioichi agreeing to him before stretching, "Though...I think we all need some rest. I'll work out a plan for us to execute, but for now we need to be in our top form."

Murray yawned at his words, "Oh yeah. That is most definitely something I can agree with," he happily grinned as he began to make his way over to the van where his mattress had been set up, "See you guys in the morning...Uh..Afternoon?"

"Sleep well Murray," Bentley grinned before looking over to Sly and Rioichi, "You two better get to bed as soon as possible. The plan requires both of you."

"No worries buddy," Sly assured him with a thumbs up, "We'll be ready to go on your call."

"I'll be counting on it," his friend smiled before wheeling off towards the bedding on an elevated platform of the hideout. Sly yawned as well, feeling the events from Paris and in Japan finally catching up to him. It had been an exhausting night...

"Sly-san." He turned at Rioichi's voice and raised an eyebrow, "Yeah?" His ancestor gave him a look before shaking his head. "Was there more to why you were so determined to help Henriette?"

"What?"

The question came as a shock, why?

"Well we're family and..." He paused immediately as he realized the true intent of the question by the ninja master thief.

Yes they were family, but Sly had also wanted to save Rioichi for Henriette's sake because he had gone through the same thing as a child.

"...I know what it's like to lose your parents," he finally answered while taking a moment to look over to where Henriette slept. She was curled up on the futon and while she did have a blanket, her tail was still wrapped around her to add extra warmth. Her ears twitched a few times as she slowly inhaled and exhaled. "I lost mine when I was eight," Sly continued as he shifted his eyes to look at Rioichi, "They invaded into our home and I had no idea what was going on...There was no way I wanted her to lose you and face all those emotions I went through. It was horrible...Nothing for someone as young as her to go through."

Even after everything, the memory of the Fiendish Five still haunted him and having seen Henriette so scared and confused brought back all the emotions he tried to forget. He had felt so alone before he met his friends at the orphanage.

Rioichi listened before slowly nodding, "I understand...And I thank you. It must have been a challenge to overcome," the older raccoon told him. Sly smiled before shaking his head, "Anything for you guys..."

There was so much more he wanted to say though...To tell his ancestor.

He wanted to tell Rioichi who, out of all the stories recorded in their family book, he always enjoyed his and desired to learn more about the stories that were yet to be written in the family book in person. How he wanted to tell Henriette about how she would come to lose one of her hands and use her Cooper cane's hook as a replacement later on in her pirating years. He wanted to warn them of the owl that would soon come after them when they had reached the age too old to flee.

While he had no idea if Clockwerk had come in contact with the ninja master thief or if he even knew of the age old enemy of their family...He couldn't.

It would change time and while Sly had this chance to save not one, but two family members...He couldn't. It wouldn't be right to temper anymore to history and he could only do all he could to repair the damage already placed upon his family. The last thing he needed was to damage it more with his knowledge.

Rioichi reached out towards him and patted him on the shoulder, startling him out of his thoughts. "In time...Things will be back in their proper place and hopefully many answers will come when the time is right," his ancestor told him before giving him a smile, "As Bentley-san said, we should rest. Sleep well Sly-san." Sly watched as Rioichi walked away, obviously choosing to sleep by his daughter and leaving him to ponder over his last words to him.

Did Rioichi know?

He shook his head, everything was happening too fast and there was so much still to do to make things right. With that he went off towards the van, opening the passenger seat and settled down. Behind him he could hear Murray's snores as he flipped open the sun visor to reveal the three photos that were of carefully placed inside before they jumped into this time travel mission. The first being a picture of all three of them from the orphanage after the Cookie Heist and the other a photo of Bentley and Penelope.

The one picture Sly had took down was the one of him and Carmelita during his Constable Cooper days. He smiled as he stared at how surprised Carmelita was in the photo, whether it was because of the photo suddenly taken or his kiss, he could never know. He glanced out of the van's window towards Rioichi and Henriette.

Rioichi had managed to find a space close by his daughter, but not too close to ensure she had space to move in her sleep. One arm was draped over the smaller raccoon's curled form and Sly held back a snicker as he noticed Rioichi's ears twitched like Henriette's were as he slept. His mind going back to Carmelita and if he had managed to fix up the mess he made back in Paris.

 _"Maybe,"_ he thought as he leaned back in the seat, _"Maybe if someone hadn't messed with my family's past and we were together a little longer...We could have had a little one of our own."_

Sly would have shook his head, but his eyelids were slowly growing heavy and soon he drifted to sleep, the picture still held tight in his hand.

* * *

The sounds of a rooster crowing in the distance made her glare out from the warmth of her blanket and her father's fur as Henriette was forced to wake up. She slowly crawled out from under her father's arm and stretched as a yawn came out. Rubbing her eye she looked around the hideout, realizing she was the first one to wake.

Her father laid out on the futon, his head buried into his left arm while his right, which had been draped over her earlier, was now stretched out over the empty space she had been occupying. Across the room she noticed Bentley or rather his shell on the more platformed areas of the hideout with his chair resting against it. There was a blanket draped over him and she could faintly hear quiet snores coming from him.

She jumped as a rather loud snore echoed from the other side of the room and found Murray. During some time while sleeping the hippo had fallen out of the back of his van, though he looked at peace lying down on his stomach as he kept emitting snores. Henriette slowly crept over and carefully pulled the blanket over him properly before stepping back. The only one she could not find right away was Sly.

For a moment Henriette considered he was asleep on one of the ceiling beams if she had not noticed a striped tail hanging out of the side of the doors of the van close to the front.

Sly was slouched forward in one of the van's dark brown seats, his blue hat tipped forward to cover his eyes with his mouth slightly open as he let out quiet breaths. She was about to leave him alone when something slipped out of his fingers and fell to the floor. Curiosity got the best of her and she knelt down to pick up it up.

It was an image of Sly and a very pretty fox with curly blue hair. The fox was wearing a bright gold like dress and held up a red rose as Sly leaned in close to her face, giving her a kiss. Henriette wondered if like Bentley missing Penelope, if Sly missed this fox too. There were obvious signs the two were lovers if the kiss didn't already give the young raccoon an idea and wondered what sort of person this mysterious fox was.

She jolted as she heard Sly let out a quiet groan and tightened her grip on the image in her fingers. A few moments passed until Sly became quiet and she quickly put the image into his lap before hurrying away.

With all the adults asleep, Henriette was left by herself...Awake.

The young raccoon sighed and glanced around the hideout to try and figure out if she could do something to entertain herself until someone else woke up. She considered trying to make breakfast, but knew that she shouldn't try to go to the kitchen without supervision. She had never quite inherited her father's cooking skills and would probably make a mess that would surely make all the adults angry.

There was a small part of the hideout that had the armor Sly had stolen from the guards on display, but she was a little afraid to go near it. Mostly so she wouldn't make it fall over and also the memory of those guards tormenting her was still fresh in her memory. Hopefully she wouldn't be too scared to go out if she had to...

So without many options left Henriette chose to sit at the table with the map and study it.

Some of the places on the map were circled and had Xs. She instantly recognized her father's sushi restaurant and their home, with El Jefe's wooden statue close by. Letting out a soft growl she poked at it and watched in satisfaction as it tipped over in a light thunk. If only she could do that to the real one...

Other places she recognized were circled with an X in red. The Geisha House and the path leading into her father's secret fishing spot. "I wonder how Bentley-san figured out where to find it," she mused to herself as she kept studying the map in silence. Her eyes fell over the small drawings of the village houses and on impulse lightly traced her fingers over where the paths she had made while hiding upon the roofs.

She could remember all the ropes and all the bamboo she used to avoid capture and paused when her eyes fell on the brush left out upon the table. Picking it up she began to lightly press the tip against the paper and began to trail out her memorized paths.

Finishing the very last stroke she jumped as she felt someone right behind her. The brush fell to the floor in a clatter and she immediately dove under the table as the person chuckled, "Well morning to you too Henriette..."

Peering out she frowned as she saw Sly grinning at her, "Did you sleep well?"

"Yes Sly-san," she told him before crawling out from under the table, "That was mean to do Sly-san." The older raccoon blinked before laughing a bit, "Oh right. You're still a bit jumpy, sorry about that." Henriette only shrugged before looking at the map and felt herself freeze. While she had only done it to map out the paths they could have used to get around the village, she had forgotten to ask permission.

Bentley would surely be upset and by the looks of of it, Sly had finally noticed what she had done since he went over to the map and studied all the marks she had placed. "So...What are these suppose to be?" he asked as he pointed to the brushstrokes on the roofs. Henriette swallowed the lump in her throat as she glanced down, "Those are where the ropes to the roofs are," she explained, "I remember all the paths I took to get around the village and...I thought they would be helpful."

She kept her eyes down as she heard Sly put the map back on the table, "...And you remember them all?"

"Yes. Even some places where you can crawl under," she added and urged herself to look up, "...I'm sorry. Will Bentley-san be angry?"

"Angry? No of course not!" Sly suddenly exclaimed making her perk up, "Henriette, you memorized an entire way to avoid detection without any trouble. That's not something anyone could normally do. With this it might help us get around those guards a little easier." Her tail and ears nearly rose to their full height at his words as she stumbled over her words, "R-Really? I did not mess up the map?" Sly shook his head and grinned down at her, "No, you made it better."

Henriette could barely contain her happiness and she let out a giggle, "I'm glad I could help!" Sly patted her on the head before stopping, "...Sly-san?" The older raccoon scratched his head before frowning. This made Henriette lower her ears, did she do something wrong?

Sly slowly lowered himself to her height and she blinked as he placed both his hands on her shoulders, "Henriette...I didn't tell you this before, but only because I was afraid you would think I was lying to you," he quietly told her, "I also didn't want you to think the only reason I saved your father was because of my connection to you both." Automatically Henriette glanced over to where her father was. By now he was lying down on his back, his fingers resting on his stomach as he continued to sleep.

"Papa knows?" she asked Sly who in turn nodded, "Yes he does," Sly promised and inhaled as he lowered his hands. Henriette watched as he placed a fist to his mouth, clearing his throat loudly and putting the same hand to his heart, "Henriette, my full name is Sly Cooper...I'm your relative. From the future." With that said Sly closed his eyes and waited for her answer.

Henriette was...Well, not quite stunned, but it made some sense actually. When she had first met Sly she could see a little bit of her father in him, not in the fur of course. It was the way he moved and how his face became serious at times. While she had thought Sly knew her father, she never really could imagine herself coming up with the answer that they were related. "...Does that mean I can call you big brother?" she finally asked making Sly's eyes open wide and him flinching back.

"Well...Uh...Not really?" the older raccoon laughed nervously and gulped, "Well, I mean you can if you want, but that's not-"

"BIG BROTHER SLY!"

Henriette leaned forward and wrapped her arms around Sly and giggled as she could hear him struggle to explain to her just how they were related. "You're like my big brother so you are my big brother," she quickly interjected before he could even start his explanation as she kept hugging him, "So...Can I call you big brother?" The older raccoon let out a few sounds most being stutters before he sighing and chuckling, "Yeah...I guess I could handle that. Never had a younger sibling before so...Sure why not Henriette."

"Yay!" She could hear Sly chuckle as his own arms wrapped around her, "Now c'mon. Let's wake up the others...Sis."

Henriette nodded in agreement before dashing over to where her father slept and shook him, "Papa! Big Brother says to wake up!" Her father immediately jerked up and blinked at her words, "...Since when did you have an older brother?"

"Papa's silly," she giggled and pointed over to Sly who waved over to him, though she noticed he was also holding up his other arm across his body as if ready for an attack. "She knows," was all he said before her father sighed and patted her on the head. She brushed it off though and smiled towards the both of them.

She had no idea that in reality, she was the oldest compared to Sly.

* * *

 ** _Here have some fluff and feels with this update!_**

 ** _I needed to put this up as soon as possible. I hope you all didn't mind this chapter and enjoyed it!_**

 ** _Until then~!_**


	7. The First Mission

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN SLY COOPER!**

 **Note: All spelling and grammatical errors I have missed, I apologize for. Enjoy!**

* * *

Sly peered through his binocucom and slowly pressed the button to zoom in closer to the sushi shop from his perch on the roof. Rioichi was by his side on the left, his ninja ancestor crouching as low as he could as he narrowed his eyes forward. Rioichi had remained silent since night had fallen and Sly had to glance behind himself on occasions to ensure that the ninja master had followed him.

To his right was Henriette.

While Rioichi and Sly were the main part of the plan, Bentley had proposed Henriette join the two. Aside from her newest addition to their map, the young raccoon's tiny build was ideal enough to crawl and climb through the smaller parts of the restaurant that Rioichi couldn't enable himself to go through.

Before the young raccoon had informed them all why she had to escape through the front of the sushi shop instead of the back way was because Rioichi's knives had been taken by the guards. These knives seemed to serve as keys for the ninja master thief's home and without them he could not go through his restaurant. This information lead them to the only solution to take back the ninja's sushi shop was to steal them back from the guards inside. The plan seemed straightforward and simple to follow, but Bentley suggested that Henriette go in with her father as a precaution.

With Rioichi on the ground trying to steal the knives, Henriette would keep watch from her hiding places and create distractions when a guard would slowly go towards his direction or detect his presence. The young raccoon had been hesitate about her involvement, but towards the end she agreed with a smile towards him and her father. Rioichi's silence may have been so from Henriette's presence on the mission however Sly couldn't quite tell if he was angry or worried.

The much older raccoon only secured Henriette's mask tightly before hoisting her up onto his back and following after him after they left the hideout.

Pulling his binocucom away from his eyes, Sly peered over to his right to find Henriette now laying on the roof tiles on her stomach. Her tense posture mirroring that of her father's with her tail swaying in the breeze as they stared out towards the sushi restaurant. Perhaps Rioichi had considered it a benefit to allow his daughter to tag along as not only would she see her father and him in action, but she herself could slowly grow comfortable in her stealth skills. The mask on his much younger pirate ancestor's face was a sign that she had agreed on following their thieving history.

Sly considered himself a bit lucky to be a contribute in Henriette's first steps on becoming a thief and grinned to himself as he went back to looking at the restaurant.

There were a total of three guards in front of the sushi shop.

Two were placed right at the front door while the third made a continuous circle around the courtyard of the building. They seemed to be much more bulkier than the ones from the prison who had much greater numbers in their guard than in build.

Any physical fighting would be a disadvantage for Sly and Rioichi which could lead both coons in a cage in the prison.

"Hey Bentley," Sly spoke up as he continued to use his binocucom, "You getting this?"

"Yup, it's time for Rioichi to reclaim his sushi restaurant!" his friend said through his ear piece as his image appeared at the side of his binocucom, "I looked around and it looks like the front door is the only entrance in. The back way is most definitely out for us. We'll need to get rid of the guards in the front if we're going to get Rioichi and Henriette inside."

Beside him Rioichi and Henriette stared at him, their ears twitching a bit as they listened to him speak. It had been awkward explaining just how he could hear Bentley and just as daunting to make both of them wear ear pieces of their own. Henriette's left ear kept twitching along with Rioichi's, though his was not as much. The ninja had been obedient and cautious upon being requested to put the black ear bud into his ear. Henriette seemed welcoming, but it had been a challenge to pop the ear piece right into her ear.

He could only shrug at them as he looked through his binocucom again, focusing upon the guards and building in a closer range.

"Security's been put on high alert since we got Rioichi out," Bentley continued, "And we can't risk raising an alarm of course...I think this one is going to require some...Misdirection."

"What do you mean?" Sly questioned as he lowered the binocucom slightly as his friend chuckled, "I bet if you wore that samurai armor you stole, you'll be able to relieve those guards at the front door."

"Right...And I just look good in armor," Sly smirked while on the other end he heard Bentley sigh before peering through the binocucom again just in time to see Bentley shake his head towards him. He watched on the small window of Bentley as he hit himself lightly in the face with an open hand, "Puh-lease. Sly no. We don't need more lies. Just as he was about to make a witty remark he was stopped by Rioichi.

The ninja held up a hand and pointed down into the courtyard as Henriette let out a small whimper before crawling a little closer to him just as a tiger came into his view.

El Jefe snatched his cigar from his mouth and leaned in as close as he could to one of the guards at the door. The guards immediately tensed up and saluted to him as he let out a snarl which echoed through the empty courtyard.

"No one gets in or out, understand?!" the tiger growled as he looked at the guard before him, "I don't want any more problems! If I so much find out there is..." El Jefe merely took a claw and slowly crossed it over the guard's throat.

The boar's armor shook as he frantically nodded as the tiger placed his cigar back between his teeth before slinking away, "No mistakes," he warned the guards one last time as he walked by each one.

Henriette shook even more as the tiger began to come closer to the house they were standing on and Sly immediately reached out and smoothed down her hair and ears. Rioichi also reached out and placed his hand on top of his daughter's while giving her a small smile. The younger raccoon stopped shaking and let out a shaky sigh of relief as El Jefe disappeared from view.

"Are you sure you'll be okay Henriette?" Sly whispered as he began to stand up, "We can always take you back to the hideout...Don't worry. Sometimes it takes some time getting used to being out in the field."

"No I'm okay," she quickly told him and stood up, "I-I'll be fine!"

"Henriette...If you are not alright th-" Rioichi was cut off by his daughter's furious head shake and sighed, "Alright..." He glanced over to Sly and nodded, "On your signal Sly-san."

"Right," Sly grinned and quickly ran off the edge of the roof as Rioichi knelt down to allow Henriette to climb up upon his back to be carried.

The gray raccoon landed lightly onto his feet and quickly placed the stolen armor upon himself. The clanging of metal seemed much louder with each step he took towards the front door and it took all his strength not to tip over as he walked. This must have been perhaps the heaviest disguise he had to use and while it provided the most protection, Sly would be very happy to get out of it as soon as this mission was over. Peering up towards the roof as he passed, he saw the faint silhouette of Rioichi against the moon.

The ninja looked just as powerful from his picture in the family book, if not for the addition of Henriette who clung onto him tightly at the neck. Sly refrained from grinning as he approached the boars.

They all straightened up upon his arrival and he deepened his voice as he waved his hand up into the air, "Dismissed!"

All three saluted before quickly leaving the area as he took the front guards' place. A few minutes later he quickly hit the surface of his shield three times and crouched down as he saw Rioichi quickly make his way towards him.

His shield was placed right in front of him and upon feeling the other raccoon's weight on the surface, pushed up to propel both his ancestors towards the window above the front door. Sly quickly turned around in time to see Rioichi kick it open, carefully allowing Henriette off his back first.

The young raccoon stood on the window sill and looked down at Sly, "Be safe Big Brother," she whispered before jumped inside the restaurant. Rioichi peered down inside before turning to Sly. The ninja had a smirk on his face to which Sly rolled his eyes, "She wanted to call me that," he protested to which the older raccoon only chuckled.

"I know...It is just entertaining to us all," Rioichi told him before giving him a wave, "We will be careful." With that his ninja ancestor jumped down inside the building leaving Sly all by himself to guard the front door.

* * *

Rioichi had wanted Henriette to wait for them back at the hideout as soon as Bentley proposed her involvement in the mission.

While he did not question the turtle's strategy, he had been greatly worried upon allowing his daughter to come with him and Sly. However he allowed her to come upon her agreement. This would hopefully get her over the fear of the guards and perhaps allow her more of a chance to test her skills in stealth...And so he held his tongue.

She had already accepted the family heritage and wanted to become a thief, he had no reason to stop her from following that path many past Coopers had walked upon. With that it was his duty to teach her as much as he could.

Landing on his feet inside his darkened sushi restaurant he spotted his daughter a few feet away from him, looking around the area. Her ears and tail were all pointed up, a sign of her alertness, and as she turned to look at him gave a nod. Rioichi motioned her over to him as he slowly pulled up the hood of his blue tunic, concealing his features.

His daughter smiled towards him and he gently ruffled her hair, "Anyone?" he whispered to which she shook her head, "No one. We are the only ones in this space," she informed him. Rioichi quickly turned away and knelt towards the carpet right behind the front door. Lifting up the corner he let out a chuckle upon the sight of his wooden cane, untouched, just as he had left it.

Grasping the familiar wood in his hands and twirling it between his fingers, he grinned at Henriette who stared at his cane in awe.

"So you hid it here?" she finally questioned to which he chuckled, "Remember my daughter," he told her as he gripped the handle firmly as they walked forward, "Never allow the enemy to take your Cooper weapon. It is not only your weapon, but a symbol of our family." His daughter slowly nodded and looked towards the curve of his cane with the C craved so carefully on the top.

He had made the cane with his own two hands, armed with a knife and many days and nights perfecting it to his liking. Surely one day Henriette would sit down and craft her own...He hoped to be present upon that day.

The entire shop, their home, had been left in a state of destruction as they looked around. Piece of plates and open sacks of rice were scattered all about the wooden floor. Rats scurrying upon the floors, eating what ever rice grain came into their view. A few of the restaurant's tapestries had been torn down and paper lanterns one hanging from the wires above in the ceiling had been crushed, mostly likely by hooves. Rioichi could only growl upon the sight and tightened the grip upon his cane as he stopped in the center of the room.

"They made a mess," Henriette huffed beside him before stomping her foot as a rat approached them. The rodent let out a squeak before hurrying out of sight. He could only scrunch up his nose as even more rats seemed to come into view.

Henriette seemed to be just as disgusted and she began to shoo them away, with a light stomp on the floor or a wave of her hand.

Rioichi reached into the pocket of his shirt and pulled out the device Bentley had called a 'binocucom' and lifted it to cover his eyes like Sly had done with his moments earlier outside. In his right ear he could hear Bentley's voice immediately as the device made him look much closer to his surroundings.

It was...Odd. If not a little intriguing upon seeing his restaurant in such an odd angle and he squinted a bit upon seeing a small square...Wait...

"Bentley-san...How are you trapped in this device?" he suddenly questioned as the turtle laughed upon him being noticed in the device, "Ah well...That would take a long time to explain Rioichi." The ninja master responded in silence and stared at the corner of where he could see the turtle. Bentley sat there quietly before clearing his throat and took his silence as a sign to continue on.

"I guess I don't need to tell you about your own place. I have to say, it's quite ingenious of you to use your sushi knives as door keys by the way."

For a moment Rioichi resisted crossing his arms and kept the binocucom in place as he rolled his eyes, "Bentley-san," he grunted, "I AM a ninja master." In the device Rioichi could see the turtle stare out into the distance, a little stunned before speaking up again.

"Right uh...My bad," the turtle scratched the back of his head before shrugging, "Anyway, my scanner reveals your sushi knives are still inside the building. The bad news, the guards have them just as Henriette had told us earlier. Just like what we said in the hideout, you'll need to steal them back. Also keep in mind that there are some security traps you and Henriette definitely haven't seen before. So avoid them at all cost!"

Again Rioichi resisted crossing his arms, did Bentley not think he and Henriette were not aware of the dangers obviously before them?

"Bentley-san," he spoke again and the turtle in the small square tensed upon the tone in his voice, "Though the bamboo forest is dense, water flows through it without effort." Beside him he could faintly hear his daughter giggling and reached out to lightly tap her on the top of the head with his cane.

"Uh, yeah sure okay." Rioichi watched as Bentley again scratched his head, "Just be careful not to alert the guards. Now you'll need to get on higher ground and start working your way through the guards. Tell Henriette to get to her position and that I gotta talk to her as soon as she finds one. It's time you both get your restaurant and home back!" The raccoon nodded and watched as the small square Bentley was in disappear just as he lowered the device down.

He turned to glance at Henriette who stared at him with her eye as wide as it could.

Chuckling he ruffled her hair, earning a whine. "Bentley-san wants to speak to you as soon as you find the place you must be at," he informed her before glancing around the room. His eyes settled upon the bamboo plant close by the front door, that was his starting point. With that in mind and the mission slowly beginning, Rioichi glanced down to his daughter again.

The ninja quickly knelt down in front of her, grabbing hold of her hand making her stare at him with her one eye. The mask fit her perfectly and for a moment Rioichi wondered if this was how his father felt when he saw the mask upon his own face. His fingers gently wrapped themselves around her tiny hand, "...Are you sure you are fine with this Henriette?"

His daughter blinked at his question and for a moment a look of doubt crossed her face. However just as he thought she was having second thoughts Henriette frowned and shook her head, an expression of determination upon her.

"Yes Papa. I'm sure."

The way her lips suddenly turned upwards to give him a smile and the way she grasped his hand to give it a squeeze was enough for him to sigh in defeat. There was no turning back now...She was involved with her very first thieving mission, whether he liked it or not.

* * *

 ** _Slowly updating this, a chapter to propel ourselves on forward!_**

 ** _How will Henriette handle her first ever mission, wait until the next chapter to find out! Until then~!_**


	8. Sushi Heist

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN SLY COOPER! Nope, own nothing.**

 _ **Hey guys, what's up?**_ _ **This chapter was a little bit of a challenge for me so I really hope you all enjoy it. Read on!**_

 **Note: Any spelling and grammatical errors I have missed I am very sorry for. Enjoy!**

* * *

Henriette watched as her father slowly climbed up on the bamboo stalk as she remained on the ground.

Her father immediately jumped off the tip of the plant and landed upon a lantern still hanging up by the wires strung up on the ceiling. He glanced down at her before giving her a smile before he suddenly disappeared from atop the lantern to another in a flash of blue. Her eye followed after the trail and she smiled as she spotted her father perched on top of the bar.

The Leaping Dragon.

Her father's special technique that while similar to his usual leaping from point to point, allowed him to focus his concentration which gave him the ability to go further into much wider distances. It was tradition within their family to develop very special skills that would be passed down to future Coopers and for her father it had been his jumps that would make him stand out among the pages of their family book.

The young raccoon began to untie the bag at her belt and pulled out the strange binocucom out.

Hers was a much smaller version than the ones Sly and her father had been given. Inspecting it carefully she slowly peered through one of the ends and her tail tensed upon noticing just how suddenly everything in the room was closer through the device. The weird device also in her ear had begun to make noises and she blinked as a small image of Bentley in a box appeared in the device.

"Henriette can you see well?" the turtle asked as she nodded before speaking up, "Yes...This is very strange though. I can see things a lot closer and you're in a tiny box too in this device."

The turtle nodded, "Well that's just what the binocucom are for. It makes things look a lot bigger for you when you look through it."

She let her fingers feel around the device, her index finger pressing something on the right side of it which only made the wall she had been looking at suddenly became very close that she could make out the wooden boards' markings.

"Amazing..."

Bentley cleared his throat and adjusted his spectacles at her words, "Yes, now Henriette. There's no turning back now and I hope you're ready for this."

"Yes I am," Henriette quickly replied and pouted, "Why do all you grown ups think I cannot handle this Bentley-san? I decided on helping and I will. Do not worry." The turtle in his small square only chuckled, "Well, it's just because we care...This is a pretty big job for you Henriette. It's your first ever thieving mission!"

The young raccoon smiled at his words and she could feel a swell of pride grow in her. Yes, this was her first step on the road of following her family's ways...It was exciting if not a little frightening for her. Bentley cleared his throat before lightly tapping against the side of his spectacles, "Now remember though, you can always contact me and I'll let your dad know if you had enough."

Henriette nodded, but stopped before speaking up as she was unsure if he could see the motion of her head. "Yes Bentley-san I know," she reassured him as she began to press the side of the binocucom again as he began to speak again, "Okay. So as you already know, your dad will be going around the guards and trying to get his knives back from their pouches. He can't do this quite on his own since they're all on alert for the both of you. What I need you to do Henriette is keep hidden and be his distraction if you see any guards coming too close to him as he's getting those knives back."

Her focus was suddenly drawn towards something upon one of the walls that was not suppose to be there. It was a small orb like device that glowed with a bright light that it extended towards the entire length of the floor. Henriette flinched upon seeing it suddenly move up and down with quiet clicking sounds.

Its light shined upon a small part of the wall across from it and remained there for only a minute before it clicked and its light was focused again on the floor.

It was most definitely not a lantern she was familiar with and it did not look like it was made of paper to which she assumed it was made by some sort of metal. Bentley seemed to have noticed what she was looking at before nodding, "Those are one of the traps you and your father are unfamiliar with. You'll need to look out for strange things like that and avoid them at all cost. If you let yourself in its light range, it'll shock you!"

"Shock? Like lightning?" she questioned as she watched the strange light move up and down. The timing would be very important for her to consider and if she was to get hit by lightning as Bentley said.

"..That would be very unpleasant."

She felt her tail shiver a bit at the thought of getting a bright bolt of lightning hit her or her father. They would be very burnt if they were to allow themselves to be targets.

"It is indeed," Bentley agreed and shuddered, "We don't want you or your dad get shocked so keep your eye peeled out for dangers. Now all you need to do now is find places you can crawl through in order to get into the other rooms. Your dad will be using most of his time above in order to move around so you'll also need to catch up with him which I doubt you'll have trouble doing."

"Yes of course," she agreed as she began to walk towards the main doors that lead from the bar into the main dining area. Keeping the device on her face, Henriette reached down and carefully pulled a lower section of the door to reveal a small space for her to crawl underneath. "Now, remember keep out of sight," Bentley reminded her, "Keep your guard up and if you need any help just use the binocucom to call on us alright?"

"Yes Bentley-san. I will be very careful."

The turtle gave her a wave before the small square he was in disappeared. Henriette removed the binocucom from her eyes and returned it back into her cloth bag before lowering herself completely onto the floor to rest on her stomach.

The light of the trap faintly shined through the opening and she peered through to see one lone guard on the other side.

However it appeared he had fallen asleep while standing and swayed a bit as he continued to stand in the middle of the main dining room. "Hmmm..." Henriette squinted her eye until she noticed a pile of crates just a few feet from the guard. If she could manage to crawl out from underneath the door and make it over there, that would be a good spot for her until she needed to make her next move.

The young raccoon looked up and noticed her father slowly walking on the wall's ledge, his entire body pressed against the wood as he balanced himself. The trap clicked in place and its light was focused upon the wall which made him halt his advances forward. Henriette quickly began to crawl out from underneath the opening of the door and darted towards a the crates just as the trap clicked and its light moved back downward towards the floor.

Right at that moment too the guard had jolted awake and let out a low grunt as he swung his lantern around the area he stood in.

Henriette's tail wrapped around her stomach as she turned her head to spot her father slowly inching his way along the wall as the trap's light shined upon the floor. The guard let out another low grunt and she could faintly hear him snort as he muttered something about the trap.

She waited for a moment before peering over the crates to see him back asleep.

Above she could faintly make out her father walking along the ceiling beams before ducking down again as the guard jerked awake again. The boar glanced around, obviously sensing something before letting out a loud yawn. Henriette peered over again before noticing her father leap off from the beam he was on to the tip of the tail of a fish decoration just above the guard.

Henriette inhaled before running out from behind the crates to a pile of rice sacks behind the guard, her fingers grasped one of the sacks as she slid behind the pile and tossed it to the floor. The sack made a loud smack that echoed throughout the room and she could faintly hear grains of rice escape out of it as the guard let out a yelp at the sound.

"Who's there?!"

Her ears twitched as she stayed huddled behind the sack pile as he began to walk over only to halt as he seemed to notice the fallen sack. The boar let out a quiet huff before letting out another yelp of surprise and Henriette heard something collapse right in front of her hiding place. The young raccoon stood up and smiled as her father twirled his carving knife in one hand while grinning towards her. His cane was in his right hand, lightly beating the boar on the head to be certain the guard was knocked out.

"Nice one Papa," she commented as they both made their way to the door. Her father nodded in agreement before examining the door in front of them. Taking the knife towards the door, Henriette watched as her father slowly pressed the blade in place towards its slot.

They heard a click and the door swung open to which both coons hurried through the opening as it slid shut just as quickly.

Her father had been much quicker than her and did a series of cartwheels in the air in order to slip through the opening. She did not need to do much except turn her body sideways and let out a sigh of relief as they both managed to enter the hallway leading to the next part of their home.

Her mouth dropped as they stood in stunned silence as they stared down the hallway.

Before them was a green like net that covered the entire floor from where they stood to the end of the hall. It was not like any normal net she had ever seen and let out a faint buzzing sound as it kept glowing across the floor. Curiously she picked up a wooden chip at her feet and hurled it towards the net.

Henriette and her father watched as the wood immediately turned black upon impact with the green net and soon became lit with fire. Her eye only widen as she watched the ashes disappear through the net in a blink. The much younger raccoon swallowed loudly as she watched her father walk over to a statue and surveyed the hall one last time. Her own eye traveled to where he was looking and noticed three statues that would serve as a perfect perch for him to use in order to use his Leaping Dragon across the deadly net.

However it was obvious that he could not handle carrying her across on his back as the weight and the small perch he would have to stay on would be too difficult for him to handle. Her father stood there in silence, apparently realizing the problem, before lowering himself to kneel on the floor.

"Can you crawl under Henriette?"

She blinked at his suggestion before lowering herself onto the floor on her belly and sighed in relief as she noticed that there was enough space for her to indeed crawl through.

All she had to do was be mindful of her body's limbs, especially her tail, and to not move so quickly. She could just picture her elbow lifting up and a vision of her fur turning as dark as the wooden chip had become. The young raccoon narrowed her eye however and nodded to herself as she faced her father.

"I'll be able to make it as long as I go underneath it Papa," she informed him as she stood back up, "I need to be careful as I crawl...You do not need to wait for me." Her father could only frown at her words, but gently patted her on the head, "Then I shall go on ahead...Be careful."

"Yes Papa, I will," Henriette lightly groaned as he chuckled before hopping on top of the statue's head.

She herself lowered herself to the ground again, forcing her tail to lay as low as it could on the floor before beginning her crawl underneath the green net trap.

It had been much more cramped and the discomfort she felt as she dragged herself on the cold floor made her body protest for her to straighten herself. Fighting against that instinct she kept her crawls slow and forced herself to remain as flat as she could against the floor. Above she could sense her father observing her and she inhaled quietly to herself.

"I can do this...I can do this," she chanted as she continued to crawl.

* * *

Rioichi watched Henriette through the green light of the trap as he remained on his perch. Her whole body was as flat against the floor, her tail twitching on occasion yet remaining still as her legs and arms were angled to keep them from raising up from the floor. She would pause sometimes in her crawl and he forced himself to not say a word as he saw her tail shudder. It had to be very uncomfortable for his daughter to remain in that position yet she continued to move forward.

He would have been fine carrying her, but the statue themselves could not handle the weight of two coons.

The ninja master thief looked away from his daughter before staring straight ahead. His eyes trained upon the top of the other statue and soon he was leaping across at such speed only a blur of red and blue could be seen in the air following after him. He repeated this again towards the last statue before hopping up into the air and landing lightly at his feet. From a distance he could see Henriette slowly crawling towards the end of the net and sighed in relief as she emerged out from under the trap.

His daughter cringed a bit as she looked down at the front of her kimono which was covered in more dirt and dust.

While the blue kimono had already been dirtied enough, the sight dust from their home's floor set Henriette off as she let out a groan of disapproval. He chuckled quietly as she patted against the fabric in disgust, "Papa...We need to clean."

"Yes, we will do that as soon as we get these vermin out of our home," he informed her before they peered around the corner.

The entrance to the kitchen was blocked by a large boar, however much like the guard before in the main dining room this one seemed just as tired and let out a loud snore as he continued to stand in their way. Rioichi had to hand it to El Jefe...The tiger had installed enough fear into his men enough for them to never request a day or night of rest. However there was no way for the ninja master thief to go around the large guard without waking him up with his presence.

"...Papa, I'll district him."

Rioichi could barely hear his daughter's whispers and by the time he realized what she had said Henriette was already running on ahead of him. He watched as his daughter ran by the guard, the wind of her run brushing against the boar as she hurled herself behind a vase.

The boar let out a grunt and swung his lantern up, the ninja master thief pressing his body back against the wall as the light shined in his direction. Rioichi waited patiently until he heard the boar yawn and the light slowly disappearing. His body relaxed and he readied himself to jump out of his hiding spot to deliver a blow to the guard's head only to blink as he heard his target let out a grunt and something falling down.

He emerged out of his hiding place to find Henriette behind the boar, her tiny arms struggling to keep hold of an iron pan she had managed to obtain. It was rather amusing to see a tiny raccoon like her using it to knock out the guard as well as swaying in place as she tried to keep it up. He held back his laughter and helped her slowly place her temporary weapon down before checking the knocked out guard's pockets.

No knife.

He smiled to Henriette as soon as he saw the pout on her face after finding out this guard was not the one they were after. She caught sight of his smile before shrugging and hurrying forward to perhaps find a new hiding place as he tried to locate any other boars in their kitchen.

Henriette had ducked right behind a pile of rice sacks as he leaped up towards a metal railing in the ceiling and began to carefully maneuver himself around the kitchen from above.

The raccoon could not help, but fight back a slight smile as he kept an eye on his daughter from her hiding place. The way her eye was narrowed towards a light trap and her tail swaying in motion as she concentrated...She was beginning to develop into a thief rather well.

He halted on the rail and stared down at a boar who had settled himself by the stoves and glared as he watched him eat a bowl of rice. The guard let out a burp to which Rioichi snarled at before glancing over to see Henriette grab a plate and smash it hard on the floor. The sound made the guard drop his bowl of rice and let out a squeal as he turned around, "Who's there?! I-I'm warning ya!"

With his back turned Rioichi dropped off from his perch and immediately swung his cane as the back of the guard's head came to view as he fell down.

There was a squeal and a loud thud as his body fell over.

"I'll be taking this back," Rioichi announced to his unconscious foe as he yanked out his fillet knife out of the guard's pouch. Henriette ran over to him, pressing her body against a wall to keep away from the light of the trap attached to their ceiling, as they made their way to the door quickly. Much like before Henriette and he dashed through the opening the door provided and stared down the hall.

The green net trap was still there...Along with green lights that seemed to drag across the net trap.

In a way, they resembled that of the light trap from the main dining room and the one outside the door. However Rioichi turned his head back and forth as the thin green lights continued to move across the net. Beside him he could hear Henriette let out a nervous laugh and sigh.

"Bentley-san was not lying about these traps being really dangerous huh Papa?" Henriette questioned as she watched these odd lights skim across the net trap, "I don't think...I can go any further. Those lights are going through the net and I can't crawl well enough to avoid them." Rioichi lowered himself a bit to peer underneath and sure enough those lights did go through the green net. The ninja master thief stood up before regarding his daughter with a nod, "It seems so...But it does not mean you will need to leave. Keep an eye out on those other guards...You did very well Henriette."

With that he patted her lightly on the top of her head, earning a giggle and smile that only made his heart swell with pride.

Yes, she did very well.

From how she distracted the first guard and taken out the second, Henriette had proved to be indeed a very sneaky raccoon just like him and Sly. Not many Cooper children could handle being as skilled as she had been without officially receiving the Thievius Raccoonus. All her crawling and quick reflexes were all her own development...And Rioichi would forever be proud of her.

"Remember Henriette...Keep an eye out," he told her before hopping onto the tip of a bonsai tree display and using the Leaping Dragon to quickly evade the lights of the trap.

He could faintly hear Henriette cheer him on from her position at the end of the hall and turned to see her wave at him one last time before disappearing back into the kitchen. The ninja only tightened his cane before advancing forward towards the back way...His daughter would be fine where she was and now he was just one knife away from going into the boiler room to turn the sushi shop back on.

He was going to show that tiger that he could and would regret crossing the line to start a fight with him...

* * *

It was ironic that she would be standing in the kitchen after what had happened those past few days.

However instead of hiding in the cupboards, Henriette was sitting on top of the very pile of rice sacks she had hid under before when El Jefe had come in that night.

While the two guards were knocked out, Henriette had taken...Rather drastic measures to ensure her safety if they did awaken as she waited for her father to complete his task. She had taken the time to put large pots on both of the guards' heads and even tied their feet together with some rope. Surely if they were to wake up they would trip over themselves and knock themselves out again...

It was a rather cruel if not childish thing to do, but those boars would probably attack her on sight even if one of them had been stuffing his face with the rice her father rightfully owned.

The young raccoon swung her legs on top of the rice sacks as she waited.

Before she would be afraid to be left alone in the kitchen with the guards, but now she felt no fear as she watched over them. She had made it this far and had at least helped her father in some small way. Henriette couldn't stop the grin that developed upon her face as she remembered the feelings she had as she snuck around with her father.

It had been exactly as she had known it would be. Exciting and scary, and she was very happy that she had helped.

She had gotten over her fear to go against the guards and had even figured out that she was not as helpless as she was the first night. Henriette was going to become a thief...And this was her very first few steps to become one.

"I think...I could get use to this," she giggled to herself before her ears picked up sounds coming from somewhere further in the restaurant. She jumped up as the stoves suddenly began to burst to life with flames and ducked behind the rice sack pile as the clamoring of pots on the stove and the hiss of the fire suddenly woke up the knocked out guards.

Henriette peered over and smirked as the two let out screams of terror and stumbled about the kitchen, their tied hooves making them trip and the pan on their heads forcing them to run around blindly all the while slamming into the walls and tripping. The one guard that had been shoving rice into his face screamed in terror as his tail accidentally swung over the fires of the stove and Henriette burst out laughing as he ran towards the doors, his poor tail lit aflame while crying out for the Gods to forgive him for snacking on duty.

Her laughter only increased as he rammed into the other guard at the entrance and the pots on their heads flew off on the impact.

"W-What's going on?!"

"I don't know but we need to get out of here!"

She watched as one of them hopped as fast as his tied hooves could take him out the door with the other continuous falling on his face and soon forcing himself to squirm on forward like a worm to go after him. All around she could hear the guards squeal in confusion and watched as more ran through the kitchen from the back.

"Retreat! Retreat!"

Her laughs were forced to lower into snickers as she watched each guard run and scream those words. While her father always told her to never laugh upon other's suffering, this would have to be an exception to that rule.

The young raccoon let out a hum before picking up a sack of rice and forcing it into one guard's path. He immediately fell flat on his face and she watched in silent glee as he took another guard in front of him to the floor. Both boars didn't even notice her and only ran faster all the while screaming louder.

"Henriette..."

She turned to see her father behind her, arms crossed and his eyebrow raised as she only smiled up at him. Her father continued to stare down at her with a frown and she lowered her ears the longer he stared at her. "...Sorry Papa," she finally spoke up as she turned her head in time to see one guard slam himself into the edge of the doorway out the kitchen, "I couldn't help it..."

He only rolled his eyes before patting her on the head, his frown suddenly turned upward into a smirk, "Good one."

* * *

 ** _Took a super long time with this!_**

 ** _I really really hope you all enjoyed this chapter. Henriette's skill as revealed is sneaking through tiny spaces through crawling and distracting guards! Thank you all for reading and I hope you all will continue you to read on._**

 ** _Until then~!_**


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